ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the bioinformatics techniques, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. Some inconsistencies in the information may indicate a problem in assigning a function to a particular protein. There are two points to consider when speaking of the “function” of a protein: the first is the modular nature of numerous proteins and the second is the exact definition of the term “function”. Transmembrane segments that cross the double lipidic membrane are mostly made up of hydrophobic residues. More formally, homology search techniques are based on the concept of homologous proteins. There are three major classes of methods used to obtain information on protein function: methods using information intrinsic to the sequence, homology search methods and methods based on the context of genes. The chapter deals with a brief description of the most frequent causes of errors and a proposed strategy to prevent them as far as possible.
