The HSSP database of protein structure sequence alignments and family profiles

in Nucleic Acids Research (1998), 26(1), 313-315

HSSP (http://www.sander.embl-ebi.ac.uk/hssp/) is a derived database merging structure (3-D) and sequence (1-D) information, For each protein of known 3D structure from the Protein Data Bank (PDB), we ... [more ▼]

HSSP (http://www.sander.embl-ebi.ac.uk/hssp/) is a derived database merging structure (3-D) and sequence (1-D) information, For each protein of known 3D structure from the Protein Data Bank (PDB), we provide a multiple sequence alignment of putative homologues and a sequence profile characteristic of the protein family, centered on the known structure. The list of homologues is the result of an iterative database search in SWISS-PROT using a position-weighted dynamic programming method for sequence profile alignment (MaxHom). The database is updated frequently, The listed putative homologues are very likely to have the same 3D structure as the PDB protein to which they have been aligned. As a result, the database not only provides aligned sequence families, but also implies secondary and tertiary structures covering 33% of all sequences in SWISS-PROT. [less ▲]

Sequence analysis of the Methanococcus jannaschii genome and the prediction of protein function

in Computer Applications in the Biosciences [=CABIOS] (1997), 13(4), 481-483

Pedestrian guide to analyzing sequence databases

in WWW-publication (1997)

Over the past few years our means of communication have changed rapidly due to the growth of the World Wide Web (WWW). The Web enables molecular biologists to immediately access databases, scan literature ... [more ▼]

Over the past few years our means of communication have changed rapidly due to the growth of the World Wide Web (WWW). The Web enables molecular biologists to immediately access databases, scan literature, find information about related research and researchers, and to trace cell cultures. Wet-lab biologists can uncover information about the protein of interest without having to become experts in sequence analysis. Here, we present a variety of tools; provide an overview of the state-of-the art in sequence analysis; and described some of the principles of the methods. [less ▲]

Bioinformatics and the discovery of gene function

in Trends in Genetics (1996), 128(7), 244-245

Scientific history was made in completing the yeast genuine sequence, yet its 13 Mb are a mere starting point. Two challenges loom large: to decipher the function of all genes and to describe the workings ... [more ▼]

Scientific history was made in completing the yeast genuine sequence, yet its 13 Mb are a mere starting point. Two challenges loom large: to decipher the function of all genes and to describe the workings of the eukaryotic cell in full molecular detail. A combination of experimental and theoretical approaches will be brought to bear on these challenges. What will be next in yeast genome analysis from the point of view of bioinformatics? [less ▲]

The HSSP database of protein structure sequence alignments

in Nucleic Acids Research (1996), 24(1), 201-205

HSSP is a derived database merging structural three dimensional (3-D) and sequence one dimensional (1-D) information. For each protein of known 3-D structure from the Protein Data Bank (PDB), the database ... [more ▼]

HSSP is a derived database merging structural three dimensional (3-D) and sequence one dimensional (1-D) information. For each protein of known 3-D structure from the Protein Data Bank (PDB), the database has a multiple sequence alignment of all available homologues and a sequence profile characteristic of the family. The list of homologues is the result of a database search in Swissprot using a position-weighted dynamic programming method for sequence profile alignment (MaxHom). The database is updated frequently. The listed homologues are very likely to have the same 3-D structure as the PDB protein to which they have been aligned. As a result, the database is not only a database of aligned sequence families, but also a database of implied secondary and tertiary structures covering 27% of all Swissprotstored sequences. [less ▲]

EXPLORING THE MYCOPLASMA-CAPRICOLUM GENOME - A MINIMAL CELL REVEALS ITS PHYSIOLOGY

in Molecular Microbiology (1995), 16(5), 955-967

We report on the analysis of 214 kb of the parasitic eubacterium Mycoplasma capricolum sequenced by genomic walking techniques. The 287 putative proteins detected to date represent about half of the ... [more ▼]

We report on the analysis of 214 kb of the parasitic eubacterium Mycoplasma capricolum sequenced by genomic walking techniques. The 287 putative proteins detected to date represent about half of the estimated total number of 500 predicted for this organism. A large fraction of these (75%) can be assigned a likely function as a result of similarity searches. Several important features of the functional organization of this small genome are already apparent. Among these are (i) the expected relatively large number of enzymes involved in metabolic transport and activation, for efficient use of host cell nutrients; (ii) the presence of anabolic enzymes; (iii) the unexpected diversity of enzymes involved in DNA replication and repair; and (iv) a sizeable number of orthologues (82 so far) in Escherichia coil. This survey is beginning to provide a detailed view of how M. capricolum manages to maintain essential cellular processes with a genome much smaller than that of its bacterial relatives. [less ▲]

THE HSSP DATABASE OF PROTEIN-STRUCTURE SEQUENCE ALIGNMENTS

in Nucleic Acids Research (1994), 22(17), 3597-3599

HSSP (homology-derived structures of proteins) is a derived database merging structural (2-D and 3-D) and sequence information (1-D). For each protein of known 3D structure from the Protein Data Bank, the ... [more ▼]

HSSP (homology-derived structures of proteins) is a derived database merging structural (2-D and 3-D) and sequence information (1-D). For each protein of known 3D structure from the Protein Data Bank, the database has a file with all sequence homologues, properly aligned to the PDB protein. Homologues are very likely to have the same 3D structure as the PDB protein to which they have been aligned. As a result, the database is not only a database of sequence aligned sequence families, but it is also a database of implied secondary and tertiary structures. [less ▲]

GeneQuiz: a workbench for sequence analysis

in Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Intelligent Systems for Molecular Biology, ISMB-94 (1994)

We present the prototype of a software system, called GeneQuiz, for large-scale biological sequence analysis. The system was designed to meet the needs that arise in computational sequence analysis and ... [more ▼]

We present the prototype of a software system, called GeneQuiz, for large-scale biological sequence analysis. The system was designed to meet the needs that arise in computational sequence analysis and our past experience with the analysis of 171 protein sequences of yeast chromosome III. We explain the cognitive challenges associated with this particular research activity and present our model of the sequence analysis process. The prototype system consists of two parts: (i) the database update and search system (driven by perl programs and rdb, a simple relational database engine also written in perl) and (ii) the visualization and browsing system (developed under C++/ET++). The principal design requirement for the first part was the complete automation of all repetitive actions: database updates, efficient sequence similarity searches and sampling of results in a uniform fashion. The user is then presented with "hit-lists" that summarize the results from heterogeneous database searches. The expert's primary task now simply becomes the further analysis of the candidate entries, where the problem is to extract adequate information about functional characteristics of the query protein rapidly. This second task is tremendously accelerated by a simple combination of the heterogeneous output into uniform relational tables and the provision of browsing mechanisms that give access to database records, sequence entries and alignment views. Indexing of molecular sequence databases provides fast retrieval of individual entries with the use of unique identifiers as well as browsing through databases using pre-existing cross-references. The presentation here covers an overview of the architecture of the system prototype and our experiences on its applicability in sequence analysis. [less ▲]

Correlated mutations and residue contacts in proteins

in Proteins (1994), 18

The maintenance of protein function and structure constrains the evolution of amino acid sequences. This fact can be exploited to interpret correlated mutations observed in a sequence family as an ... [more ▼]

The maintenance of protein function and structure constrains the evolution of amino acid sequences. This fact can be exploited to interpret correlated mutations observed in a sequence family as an indication of probable physical contact in three dimensions. Here we present a simple and general method to analyze correlations in mutational behavior between different positions in a multiple sequence alignment. We then use these correlations to predict contact maps for each of 11 protein families and compare the result with the contacts determined by crystallography. For the most strongly correlated residue pairs predicted to be in contact, the prediction accuracy ranges from 37 to 68% and the improvement ratio relative to a random prediction from 1.4 to 5.1. Predicted contact maps can be used as input for the calculation of protein tertiary structure, either from sequence information alone or in combination with experimental information. [less ▲]

PREDICTION OF PROTEIN-STRUCTURE BY EVALUATION OF SEQUENCE-STRUCTURE FITNESS - ALIGNING SEQUENCES TO CONTACT PROFILES DERIVED FROM 3-DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURES

in Journal of Molecular Biology (1993), 232(3), 805-825