Analysis of Disulphide Bonds in Protein Families
Author Information
Author(s): Thangudu Ratna R, Manoharan Malini, Srinivasan N, Cadet Frédéric, Sowdhamini R, Offmann Bernard
Primary Institution: Laboratoire de Biochimie et Génétique Moléculaire, Université de La Réunion
Hypothesis
To what extent are disulphide bonds conserved in homologous proteins?
Conclusion
Disulphide bonds are conserved only to a modest extent in homologous proteins, and their conservation is unrelated to overall sequence identity.
Supporting Evidence
- 54% of disulphide bonds compared between homologous pairs are conserved.
- Only about one fourth of distinct disulphides are conserved in all members of protein families.
- Disulphide bond mutations are prevalent in many families.
Takeaway
Disulphide bonds help proteins stay stable, but many proteins don't keep these bonds the same way as their relatives do.
Methodology
The study analyzed 34,752 pairwise comparisons of homologous protein domains from 300 families to assess disulphide bond conservation.
Limitations
The analysis was limited to proteins with known 3-D structures and did not include engineered or mutant proteins.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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