Case studies: Function predictions of structural genomics results

Abstract

The various Structural Genomics initiatives around the globe succeeded in solving several thousand protein structures, many of which were novel folds or structures of biological interest. Nevertheless, because of the high-throughput strategies employed, a significant proportion of the proteins were of unknown function, and remain so to this day. A number of computational methods have been developed to help ascertain protein function from three dimensional structure, the approaches ranging from large scale fold comparison to highly specific residue template matching. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. Here we look at various analyses conducted to assess function prediction from structure, with specific examples of some of the success stories.