CHARACTERIZATION OF PROTEIN-STRUCTURE FUNCTION RELATIONSHIP BY SEQUENCE-ANALYSIS WITHOUT PREVIOUS ALIGNMENT - DISTINCTION BETWEEN SUB-GROUPS OF PROTEIN-KINASES

Using an approach for protein comparison by computer analysis based on signal treatment methods without previous alignment of the sequence, we have analysed the structure/function relationship of related protei ns. The aim was to demonstrate that from a few members of related prot eins, specific parameters can be obtained and used for the characteris ation of newly sequenced proteins obtained by molecular biology techni ques. The analysis was performed on protein kinases, which comprise th e largest known family of proteins, and therefore allows valid estimat ions to be made. We show that using only a dozen defined proteins, the specific parameters extracted from their sequences classified the pro tein kinase family into two sub-groups: the protein serine/threonine k inases (PSKs) and the protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs). The analysis, l argely involving computation, appears applicable to large scale data-b ank analysis and prediction of protein functions.