CS 882 Course Project Protein Planes

This study is a review of the properties of protein planes. The basis of the research is the covalent bonds along the backbone of the protein, since the plane is defined by these atoms. We will measure the values of the bond lengths and the angles between the bonds to determine the consistency of these values in the PDB. We will go further to measure the lengths of the planes and omega, the dihedral angle that defines the plane. Finally, we will look at secondary structures to see if there exist preferential angles between the peptide planes and the axes of the secondary structure. The results show that the first two properties are consistent and are reliably used for the purposes of refinement and structure prediction. The angles related to the secondary structures were less consistent, but the average value found for the alpha helix matched what was claimed in the literature. The other secondary structures have similar accuracy, and the preferred angles discovered are novel results based upon the literature review.