title: Proteins without 3D structure: definition, detection and beyond.
abstract: Predictions, and experiments to a lesser extent, following the decoding of the human genome showed that a significant fraction of gene products do not have well-defined 3D structures. While the presence of structured domains traditionally suggested function, it was not clear what the absence of structure implied. These and many other findings initiated the extensive theoretical and experimental research into these types of proteins, commonly known as intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). Crucial to understanding IDPs is the evaluation of structural predictors based on different principles and trained on various datasets, which is currently the subject of active research. The view is emerging that structural disorder can be considered as a separate structural category and not simply as absence of secondary and/or tertiary structure. IDPs perform essential functions and their improper functioning is responsible for human diseases such as neurodegenerative disorders.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Enzymology, Biological Research Center, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Karolina út 29, Budapest, H-1113 Hungary. orosz@enzim.hu
authors.forename: Ferenc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Orosz
authors.forename: Judit
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ovádi
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017510:Protein Folding; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D011506:Proteins