The 'knotting' problem in proteins. Loop penetration.
The 'knotting' problem in proteins is redefined in terms of the more general concept of loop penetration. Disulfide-containing proteins are represented as linear graphs, and it is proposed that proteins with nonplanar graph representations display loop penetrations in their three-dimensional structure. With this argument, it is shown that the occurrence of loop penetration in disulfide-containing proteins is approximately that expected based on the random pairing of sulfhydryl groups. It is argued that loop penetration is not as rare as currently held.
D004220:Disulfides / Q000032:analysis; D008961:Models, Structural; D010196:Pancreatic Elastase; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011506:Proteins
D004220:Disulfides; D011506:Proteins; D010196:Pancreatic Elastase