Natural-like function in artificial WW domains

Protein sequences evolve through random mutagenesis with selection for optimal fitness. Cooperative folding into a stable tertiary structure is one aspect of fitness, but evolutionary selection ultimately operates on function, not on structure. In the accompanying paper, we proposed a model for the evolutionary constraint on a small protein interaction module (the WW domain) through application of the SCA, a statistical analysis of multiple sequence alignments. Construction of artificial protein sequences directed only by the SCA showed that the information extracted by this analysis is sufficient to engineer the WW fold at atomic resolution. Here, we demonstrate that these artificial WW sequences function like their natural counterparts, showing class-specific recognition of proline-containing target peptides. Consistent with SCA predictions, a distributed network of residues mediates functional specificity in WW domains. The ability to recapitulate natural-like function in designed sequences shows that a relatively small quantity of sequence information is sufficient to specify the global energetics of amino acid interactions.     

四螺旋桨家族蛋白质序列——结构关系研究

蛋白质的三级结构唯一地由其氨基酸序列决定,这是广为人所接受的。然而,很多具有规则三级结构的蛋白质其氨基酸序列接近随机,这使得人们感到很困惑。本文将以四螺旋桨家族蛋白质为例,通过简化氨基酸残基,根据相似性方法把序列中的隐含对称性显示出来。结果表明氨基酸序列中的隐含对称性与三级结构的四重准对称性一致。     

遗传信息从核酸到蛋白质构象的传输效率

从密码学的观点研究了遗传信息从核酸流各氨基酸和从蛋白质一级结构流向三级结构的信息传输问题，引入了信息传输效率的概念，其对数负正丝 系统的抗干扰能力。导出了信息传输效率与序列长度的关系。发现了信息从核酸流向氨基酸（第一遗传密码）的传输效率和从氨基酸序列流向蛋白质三级结构（第二遗传密码）的传输效率大体相等，这说明了遗传信息的传输效率和抗干扰能力在以上两步传输过程中的匹配性。     

不同折叠类型蛋白中基于密码子的二级结构偏向性分析

在传统的Chou-Fasman蛋白质二级结构预测方法的基础上引入同义密码子使用的信息,计算了200个蛋白(49种全α结构蛋白,69种全β结构蛋白,38种仅α β结构蛋白,44种α/β结构蛋白)中不同密码子对应的氨基酸形成不同二级结构(α：螺旋,β：折叠,C：卷曲)的偏向性参数．通过对这些密码子对应氨基酸二级结构偏向性的分析,得到了氨基酸二级结构偏向性分析中所忽略的同义密码子的蛋白结构信息．这些新的信息量对于指导蛋白质设计以及提高蛋白质二级结构预测的准确率有着一定的作用．     

A new approach to protein fold recognition.

The prediction of protein tertiary structure from sequence using molecular energy calculations has not yet been successful; an alternative strategy of recognizing known motifs or folds in sequences looks more promising. We present here a new approach to fold recognition, whereby sequences are fitted directly onto the backbone coordinates of known protein structures. Our method for protein fold recognition involves automatic modelling of protein structures using a given sequence, and is based on the frameworks of known protein folds. The plausibility of each model, and hence the degree of compatibility between the sequence and the proposed structure, is evaluated by means of a set of empirical potentials derived from proteins of known structure. The novel aspect of our approach is that the matching of sequences to backbone coordinates is performed in full three-dimensional space, incorporating specific pair interactions explicitly.     

A symmetry-related sequence-structure relation of proteins

Proteins have regular tertiary structures but irregular amino acid sequences. This made it very difficult to decode the structural information in the protein sequences. Here we demonstrate that many small α protein domains have hidden sequence symmetries characteristic of their pseudo-symmetric tertiary structures. We also present a modified method of recurrent plot to reveal this kind of the hidden sequence symmetry. The results may enable us to understand part of the relations between protein sequences and their tertiary structures.     

从序列预测蛋白质折叠速率

基于序列预测二级结构的蛋白质折叠速率的成功预测暗示着折叠速率能够单独从序列中预测出来.为了追踪这一问题,提出了从序列预测折叠速率的一种方法,而不需要任何二级结构和拓扑的信息.残基对折叠速率的影响与氨基酸的性质有密切的关系.对双态和多态蛋白质实验测定的折叠速率的相关性达到了82.9%,这意味着蛋白质的氨基酸序列是决定折叠速率和机理的重要因素.     

蛋白质二级结构由氨基酸和mRNA序列编码

据氨基酸序列,密码子序列和蛋白质二级结构序列的比较,指出约18％的两肽的密切子具有反常的蛋白质结构偏好性,并且这种以常不能用随机涨落解释,因而关于蛋白质折迭的Anfinsen原理可能需要作适当修正。     

Nucleotide sequence of the rat skeletal muscle actin gene

The actins constitute a family of highly conserved proteins found in all eukaryotic cells. Their conservation through a very wide range of taxonomic groups and the existence of tissue-specific isoforms make the actin genes very interesting for the study of the evolution of genes and their controlling elements. On the basis of amino acid sequence data, at least six different mammalian actins have been identified (skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, two smooth muscle actins and the cytoplasmic beta- and gamma-actins). Rat spleen DNA digested by the EcoRI restriction enzyme contains at least 12 different fragments with actin-like sequences but only one which hybridized, in very stringent conditions, with the skeletal muscle cloned cDNA probe. Here we describe the sequence of the actin gene in that fragment. The nucleotide sequence codes for two amino acids, Met-Cys, preceding the known N-terminal Asp of the mature protein. There are five small introns in the coding region and a large intron in the 5'-untranslated region. Comparison of the structure of the rat skeletal muscle actin gene with available data on actin genes from other organisms shows that while the sequenced actin genes from Drosophila and yeast have introns at different locations, introns located at codons specifying amino acids 41, 121, 204 and 267 have been preserved at least from the echinoderm to the vertebrates. A similar analysis has been done by Davidson. An intron at codon 150 is common to a plant actin gene and the skeletal muscle acting gene.     

50 ku keratin-like protein and -microtublin coexist in higher plant cells

IF-like proteins have been obtained from suspension cells of Nicotiana tabacum by selective extraction. Western blot analysis shows that the major components of IF-like proteins are 6 keratin-like proteins of 64, 58, 55, 54, 50 and 45 ku. Specially the 50 ku protein also reacts with polyantibody against microtublin. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis shows that the 50 ku protein is composed of two different proteins and their amino acid sequences have been determined. Part of the sequence of one protein is identical to that of -microtublin and the other protein's sequence has no significant homologue, which should be a new sequence-unknown protein. These results suggest that 50 ku keratin-like protein and -microtublin coexist in higher plant cells, and that may lead to the phenomenon of co-distribution of IF and microtuble in plant cells.     

蛋白质超家族模体保守性及物理化学性质的分析

分析了全β类4个典型的蛋白质超家族中模体的功能,发现免疫球蛋白超家族和纤维结合蛋白类型Ⅲ超家族中的模体有相似的结构,但是它们行使不同的功能.血小板-白细胞C激酶底物的同源物结构域超家族和核酸结合超家族中的模体类型较多,虽然这些模体只是部分结构相似,然而它们却在各自的超家族中分别执行着相同的功能.文章进一步运用统计学方法研究了蛋白质超家族中保守模体的亲疏水特征、物理化学特征和结构特征.结果表明,模体差异有显著意义的残基存在于序列模体的保守位点上,相同的序列模体具有相似的二级结构.这些特征将对进一步识别超家族提供帮助.     

百合无症病毒衣壳蛋白基因克隆和蛋白分析

根据已报道的LSV CP基因序列合成两条寡聚核苷酸引物,模板为感染LSV的百合叶片的总RNA,通过反转录-聚合酶链式反应(RT-PCR)扩增出大小为876bp的LSV CP基因,经测序后,对该基因编码区全长序列及相应的氨基酸序列用生物信息学软件系统进行序列分析及结构功能预测.结果表明:该基因由876个核苷酸组成,编码291个氨基酸;与GeneBank公布的其他LSV分离物的基因序列同源性为93.4%～99.0%,氨基酸同源性为84.8%～99.5%;它含有一个卷曲螺旋结构和多个磷酸化位点,平均疏水值为-0.432;含有Carlaviruses完整的衣壳蛋白保守结构域,二级结构以α-螺旋和无规则卷曲为主.     

50 ku keratin-like protein and β-microtublin coexist in higher plant cells

IF-like proteins have been obtained from suspension cells of Nicotiana tabacum by selective extraction. Western blot analysis shows that the major components of IF-like proteins are 6 keratin-like proteins of 64, 58, 55, 54, 50 and 45 ku. Specially the 50 ku ptotein also reacts with polyantibody against microtublin. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis shows that the 50 ku protein is composed of two different proteins and their amino acid sequences have been determined. Part of the sequence of one protein is identical to that of β-microtublin and the other protein's sequence has no significant homologue, which should be a new sequence-unknown protein. These results suggest that 50 ku keratin-like protein and β-microtublin coexist in higher plant cells, and that may lead to the phenomenon of co-distribution of IF and microtuble in plant cells.     

同义密码子用语与蛋白质二级结构信息

对人体117个蛋白质和大肠杆菌的185个蛋白质的各二级结构相对应的mRNA序列中的同义密码子与氨基酸上下文关联熵、蛋白质序列中氨基酸与氨基酸上下文关联熵作了统计分析，发现密码子关联确实比氨基酸关联对蛋白质二级结构提供的信息量大，而且人蛋白质中同义密码子提供的二级结构信息比大肠杆菌中多．同时，证明了在相对信息剩余大于等于30％的情况下，Adzhubei给出的九种氨基酸中的八种其同义密码子在某些二级结构中明显的携带结构信息；此外A，N，D，R，H，C，Y这几种氨基酸的同义密码子在某些二级结构中也明显地携带结构信息．     

蛋白质结构中氨基酸残基聚集体的识别与分析

在蛋白质结构中，氨基酸残基并不是单独行使其功能．几个残基通常聚集在一起，共同承担生物学角色．本文通过对蛋白质结构内残基的空间分布进行分析，提取出从两个残基到五个残基的组合，并统计出它们出现的频率和频率分布．二元组在维系蛋白质三级结构中起重要作用，而三元组、四元组和五元组与蛋白质的功能有着密切的关系．这些多元组可为蛋白质结构及功能的研究提供必要的信息．     

人SEPT9蛋白同源建模和活性位点分析

利用生物信息学在线软件预测了人SETP 9蛋白质的二级结构和模体信息,同时对其三级结构进行同源建模和模建结果质量评价,其次预测了该蛋白质的活性位点信息,旨在从蛋白质序列特征和分子结构水平理解其在人类生理病理过程中的作用.结果表明,模建的SEPT 9蛋白结构品质较高,具有7段α-螺旋和2组β-折叠结构,是一个典型的α/β类蛋白,表面呈弱正电势分布;人SEPT 9蛋白具有8个不同模体,可能参与不同生化反应或执行不同的功能.搜寻获得了人SEPT 9蛋白配基结合位点有10个,其中位点1可能是该蛋白的活性位点.这些研究结果对理解人SEPT 9蛋白功能以及配基结合位点定位非常重要,也为针对SEPT 9蛋白的分子对接和药物从头设计提供了理论基础.     

Implications of thermodynamics of protein folding for evolution of primary sequences

Natural proteins exhibit essentially two-state thermodynamics, with one stable fold that dominates thermodynamically over a vast number of possible folds, a number that increases exponentially with the size of the protein. Here we address the question of whether this feature of proteins is a rare property selected by evolution or whether it is in fact true of a significant proportion of all possible protein sequences. Using statistical procedures developed to study spin glasses, we show that, given certain assumptions, the probability that a randomly synthesized protein chain will have a dominant fold (which is the global minimum of free energy) is a function of temperature, and that below a critical temperature the probability rapidly increases as the temperature decreases. Our results suggest that a significant proportion of all possible protein sequences could have a thermodynamically dominant fold.     

天人菊matK基因克隆及生物信息学分析

为了完善天人菊的遗传信息,丰富菊科植物分子生物学分析数据.通过PCR扩增、基因克隆获得天人菊matK基因的完整核苷酸序列,采用生物信息学方法分析天人菊matK蛋白的结构及性质,并与其他12种matK氨基酸序列进行对比,构建系统进化树.结果表明,天人菊matK基因全长1296 bp,可编码432个氨基酸,二级结构以α-螺...     

Sequence similarity analysis of non-self CTL epitopes and mouse proteins using sequence alignment

This research analyzed amino acid sequence similarity between non-self T cell epitopes recognized by mouse antibodies and mouse proteins. Using sequence alignment,we found that only 8 of 1 108 epitopes are highly similar to mouse protein sequences. The result shows that non-self T cell epitopes are not similar or have little similarity to mouse protein sequences. Furthermore,reviewing the related literature,we also found that the eight epitopes would trigger immune responses in some particular environment,which are ignored by T cells in normal condition. The result suggests that no or low-similarity peptide vaccines can reduce the chance of collateral cross-reactions and enhance the antigen-specific immune response to vaccine.     

SlNPV多角体蛋白基因的序列分析

ＳｌＮＰＶ多角体蛋白基因的开放读码框为７５０ｂｐ,编码２４９个氨基酸的蛋白质,是目前所发现的最长的多角体蛋白基因．ＳｌＮＰＶ多角体蛋白Ｍｒ＝２９２３６,其氨基酸序列与其它核多角体病毒的多角体蛋白氨基酸序列有高度同源性．