title: Structural plasticity associated with the beta-propeller architecture.
abstract: The beta-propeller architecture observed in protein tertiary structure and classified into the five different types according to number of 'blades' (or beta-sheets) and a sixth type classified according to the secondary structure composition of the blades (the beta beta alpha beta-molecular unit) is characterized by variations (or plasticity) in the structure. These correspond to the number of beta-strands associated with the blade, the number of amino acid residues associated with equivalent beta-strands in the different blades and the presence of alpha-helices and twisted beta-strands. We have generated a beta-sheet associated beta-strand pattern that may be important for protein structure prediction and modeling. Analysis of the beta-propellers extracted primarily from the SCOP database revealed there are 179 beta-propellers. The examination of the secondary structure corresponding to the beta-propeller using PDBsum that was useful to define the beta-sheet associated beta-strand pattern, combined with visualization on graphics display revealed structural plasticity associated with the beta-propeller architecture. Particularly, the type 6- and 7-bladed beta-propellers known to be associated with sequence and functional diversity are more common and associated with relatively more structural variations compared to the other beta-propeller types.
authors.affiliation: Bioinformatics, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Uppal Road, Hyderabad 500007, India. guru@ccmb.res.in
authors.forename: Kunchur
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Guruprasad
authors.forename: Pugazhendhi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dhamayanthi
mesh_terms: D030562:Databases, Protein; D008958:Models, Molecular; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins