Najl V. Valeyev^1,4, A. Kristina Downing¹, John Sondek² and Charlotte Deane³

¹Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QU, U.K. ²Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina, 27599-7365, U.S.A. ³Department of Statistics, University of Oxford, 1 South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3TG, U.K. ⁴Current address: Systems Biology Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Leicester, University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH, U.K.

Abstract

β-propeller domains composed of WD repeats are highly ubiquitous and typically used as multi-site docking platforms to coordinate and integrate the activities of groups of proteins. Here, we have used extensive homology modelling of the WD40-repeat family of seven-bladed β-propellers coupled with subsequent structural classification and clustering of these models to define subfamilies of β-propellers with common structural, and probable, functional characteristics. We show that it is possible to assign seven-bladed WD β-propeller proteins into functionally different groups based on the information gained from homology modelling. We examine general structural diversity within the WD40-repeat family of seven-bladed β-propellers and demonstrate that seven-bladed β-propellers composed of WD-repeats are structurally distinct from other seven-bladed β-propellers. We further provide some insights into the multifunctional diversity of the seven-bladed WD β-propeller surfaces. This report once again reinforces the importance of structural data and the usefulness of homology models in functional classification.

Discussion
No comments yet...Be the first to comment.

share on