Understanding the fabric of protein crystals: computational classification of biological interfaces and crystal contacts.

ABSTRACT: Modern structural biology still draws the vast majority of information from crystallography, a technique where the objects being investigated are embedded in a crystal lattice. Given the complexity and variety of those objects, it becomes fundamental to computationally assess which of the interfaces in the lattice are biologically relevant and which are simply crystal contacts. Since the mid-1990s, several approaches have been applied to obtain high-accuracy classification of crystal contacts and biological protein-protein interfaces. This review provides an overview of the concepts and main approaches to protein interface classification: thermodynamic estimation of interface stability, evolutionary approaches based on conservation of interface residues, and co-occurrence of the interface

SUBMITTER: Capitani G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4743631 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature