Protein Sequences, Structures, and Functions
Members of the Jeffery Lab use biochemistry, biophysics (X-ray crystallography), and bioinformatics to understand how protein sequences and structures relate to their functions. Current research topics include moonlighting proteins, pseudoenzymes, metamorphic proteins and proteins involved in cancer and IBD. Studies of individual proteins involve combinations of X-ray crystallography, ligand binding assays, catalytic activity assays, mutagenesis, and/or computer-based ligand docking simulations or analysis of disease-causing genetic mutations. Additional computer-based projects in the analysis of protein sequence, structure and function are being performed to develop better methods to predict a protein's function(s) from its sequence or structure.
One of our long-term projects involves moonlighting proteins. Hundreds of proteins have been found to be moonlighting proteins, where a single protein performs multiple physiologically relevant biochemical or biophysical functions performed by a single polypeptide. (Jeffery, C. J. Moonlighting Proteins. (1999) Trends in Biochemical Sciences. 24: 8-11). We created a database of the known moonlighting proteins (The MoonProt Database at moonlightingproteins.org) and are performing an analysis of their sequences and structures. Knowing more about moonlighting proteins could help in predicting which additional proteins might also have multiple functions, which would be useful in determining the function(s) of the thousands of proteins identified through the genome projects, interpreting data from proteomics projects and annotating protein sequence and structural databases. In addition, information about the structures and functions of moonlighting proteins can be helpful in understanding how novel protein functional sites evolved on an ancient protein scaffold, which can help in the design of proteins with novel functions.
One of our long-term projects involves moonlighting proteins. Hundreds of proteins have been found to be moonlighting proteins, where a single protein performs multiple physiologically relevant biochemical or biophysical functions performed by a single polypeptide. (Jeffery, C. J. Moonlighting Proteins. (1999) Trends in Biochemical Sciences. 24: 8-11). We created a database of the known moonlighting proteins (The MoonProt Database at moonlightingproteins.org) and are performing an analysis of their sequences and structures. Knowing more about moonlighting proteins could help in predicting which additional proteins might also have multiple functions, which would be useful in determining the function(s) of the thousands of proteins identified through the genome projects, interpreting data from proteomics projects and annotating protein sequence and structural databases. In addition, information about the structures and functions of moonlighting proteins can be helpful in understanding how novel protein functional sites evolved on an ancient protein scaffold, which can help in the design of proteins with novel functions.
Nicole presenting her poster
at the 2022 MWFold meeting.
at the 2022 MWFold meeting.
