Hierarchical representation of supersecondary structures using a graph-theoretical approach.

The unique representation of proteins becomes more and more important with the growing number of known protein structure data. Graph-theory provides many methods not only for the description but also for comparison and classification of protein structures. Here, we describe a graph-theoretical modeling approach of the protein supersecondary structure. The resulting linear notations are intuitive and can be used to find common substructures very fast and easily. We illustrate the necessary definitions by biological examples and discuss the representation of various supersecondary structure motifs.