ABSTRACT
The 3D shape and physicochemical properties on protein surface carry essential information for understanding function of a protein. For example, catalytic reaction of an enzyme is realized by a set of atoms on the active site. Also residues at an interface surface region establish physical contacts in protein-protein interaction. Those local surface regions which are responsible for function tend to be better conserved than other surface
T&F Cat # C6847 Chapter: 5 page: 89 date: August 5, 2009
T&F Cat # C6847 Chapter: 5 page: 90 date: August 5, 2009
regions in terms of shape and physicochemical properties, which are not detectable by conventional sequence or main-chain conformation similarity searches. Thus development of effective methods for describing and comparing protein surfaces will provide new insights into how function is realized in proteins.
