title: DisProt: the Database of Disordered Proteins.
abstract: The Database of Protein Disorder (DisProt) links structure and function information for intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). Intrinsically disordered proteins do not form a fixed three-dimensional structure under physiological conditions, either in their entireties or in segments or regions. We define IDP as a protein that contains at least one experimentally determined disordered region. Although lacking fixed structure, IDPs and regions carry out important biological functions, being typically involved in regulation, signaling and control. Such functions can involve high-specificity low-affinity interactions, the multiple binding of one protein to many partners and the multiple binding of many proteins to one partner. These three features are all enabled and enhanced by protein intrinsic disorder. One of the major hindrances in the study of IDPs has been the lack of organized information. DisProt was developed to enable IDP research by collecting and organizing knowledge regarding the experimental characterization and the functional associations of IDPs. In addition to being a unique source of biological information, DisProt opens doors for a plethora of bioinformatics studies. DisProt is openly available at http://www.disprot.org.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA.
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sickmeier
authors.forename: Justin A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hamilton
authors.forename: Tanguy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: LeGall
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vacic
authors.forename: Marc S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Cortese
authors.forename: Agnes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tantos
authors.forename: Beata
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Szabo
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tompa
authors.forename: Jake
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Vladimir N
authors.initials: VN
authors.lastname: Uversky
authors.forename: Zoran
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Obradovic
authors.forename: A Keith
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Dunker
mesh_terms: D030562:Databases, Protein; D020407:Internet; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017510:Protein Folding; D011506:Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D014584:User-Computer Interface
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins