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| Title: | Marrying structure and genomics |
| Author: | Burkhard Rost |
| Quote: | Structure, 1998, 6, 259-263 |
Today. Large-scale genome sequencing is filling up the catalogue of natural proteins at a breath-taking speed. Today, we have available not just a large number of sequences, but also glimpses of the inventory of entire organisms. This will soon improve our understanding of cells, in particular, and of life, in general. Three means will contribute: (1) sequencing genomes (genomics), (2) determining protein structures, and (3) determining protein function. Protein structure is interwoven with function (see Structure, in general, [1, 2, 3, in particular). Sequencing and determining function are also routinely combined (e.g. [4] ). However, what about the relation between structure determination and genomics?
Tomorrow. Structural genomics, the marriage between protein structure determination and genomics, is already beginning. Here, I attempted to illustrate the likely direction this marriage will take. Structure determination will be pushed by, and profit from genomics. Basing research and technical developments (such as drug design) on all three pillars (sequence, structure, function) will be a big step toward understanding of life.
Objectives. Structure determination will benefit from
genomics in two ways (
Fig. 1 ). (1) The mass of available sequences
will facilitate quick determination of structure for most existing
folds. (2) Sequences for entire organisms will help to unravel
missing links in functional pathways, to explore alternative pathways,
and to widen our understanding of principle mechanisms and of
evolutionary cross-links.
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