Protein Structure Analysis and Prediction

nitrogen, carbon, alpha-carbon (Ca), oxygen, and hydrogen atoms, and a distinguishing side chain. The backbone of a protein is the linked sequence of these rigid planes. Figure 2 shows several amino acids linked together. The individual amino acids are distinguished from each other by a number of physical chemical properties that give rise to the threedimensional structure [Wilcox, Poliac, and Liebman 1990]. Therefore it is reasonable to expect that the primary structure of a protein determines, in part, its tertiary structure. Determining the actual three-dimensional structure of a protein is a time-consuming and complex process, currently being done using X-ray crystallography or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques. On the other hand, determining the sequence (primary structure) of a protein is much easier, and there are many proteins whose primary structure is known but whose tertiary structure is still unknown. The ability to predict quickly the tertiary structure once the priProtein Structure Analysis and Prediction