title: Folding alphabets.
abstract: A new computational approach optimizes searches for reduced protein folding alphabets that use fewer than 20 types of amino acids. The predicted optimal five-letter alphabet happens to be in agreement with the suggestive results of a recent experiment, but whether highly reduced alphabets are sufficient for truly protein-like properties remains an open experimental question.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, and Department of Medical Genetics and Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A8, Canada. chan@arrhenius.med.toronto.edu
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D007700:Kinetics; D008956:Models, Chemical; D015202:Protein Engineering; D017510:Protein Folding; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D011506:Proteins