Predicting Functional Regions in the Protein Sequence using SMART
Prediction of functional regions in the protein sequence plays a crucial role in the computer-aided drug discovery. SMART (a Simple Modular Architecture Research Tool) helps identify and annotate protein domains and analyze domain architectures by BLAST search. In bioinformatics, domains refer to distinct functional, structural, or evolutionary units within proteins, DNA, or RNA. Here are some key types of domains in bioinformatics: 1. Protein Domains Structural Domains : Compact, independently folding units within a protein (e.g., SH3, zinc finger, immunoglobulin domains). Functional Domains : Regions responsible for specific biochemical activities (e.g., kinase domain, DNA-binding domain). Evolutionary Domains : Conserved regions indicating common ancestry (e.g., Pfam domains). 2. DNA/RNA Domains Regulatory Domains : DNA regions controlling gene expression (e.g., promoters, enhancers). Functional RNA Domains : Motifs in non-coding RNAs (e.g., ribozyme catalytic cor...