Revealing the 3D structure of proteins (summary)

At the present time, it is still difficult and costly to obtain a representation of the three-dimensional structure of proteins. But such a representation contains important indications about their function. That is why scientists have been trying to develop computer-based methods of making predictions about the properties of certain proteins that are faster than current methods.

Julien Becker, Francis Maes and Louis Wehenkel are using their automatic predictive tool to predict the formation of disulfide bridges (connections that form between the sulfur atoms of two amino acids called cysteines) that are present within a certain protein. Their work has led to the creation of a predictive tool known as x3CysBridges, which allows them to calculate the probability that the cysteines of a single protein will form disulfide bridges. The international scientific community has already begun to use this predictive tool.

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(1) Becker J, Maes F, Wehenkel L. On the relevance of sophisticated structural annotations for disulfide connectivity pattern prediction. PLoS One. 2013;8(2):e56621. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0056621. Epub 2013 Feb 15.