Segmenting motifs in protein-protein interface surfaces

Abstract

Protein-protein interactions form the basis for many intercellular events. In this paper we develop a tool for understanding the structure of these interactions. Specifically, we define a method for identifying a set of structural motifs on protein-protein interface surface. These motifs are secondary structures, akin to α-helices and β-sheets in protein structure; they describe how multiple residues form knob-into hole features across the interface. These motifs are generated entirely from geometric properties and are easily annotated with additional biological data. We point to the use of these motifs in analyzing hotspot residues. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2006.