Abstract
Knowledge-based potentials are statistical parameters derived from databases of known protein properties that empirically capture aspects of the physical chemistry of protein structure and function. These potentials play a key role in protein design by improving the accuracy of physics-based models of interatomic interactions and enhancing the computational efficiency of the design process by limiting the complexity of searching sequence space. Recently, knowledge-based potentials (in isolation or in combination with physics-based potentials) have been applied to the modification of existing protein function, the redesign of natural protein folds and the complete design of a non-natural protein fold. In addition, knowledge-based potentials appear to be providing important information about the global topology of amino acid interactions in natural proteins. A detailed study of the methods and products of these protein design efforts promises to greatly expand our understanding of proteins and the evolutionary process that created them.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 508-513 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Current Opinion in Structural Biology |
Volume | 16 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Aug 2006 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Structural Biology
- Molecular Biology