Protein Structure Prediction using Homology Modeling

Abstract

Sequence-structure deficit marks one of the critical problems in today's scenario where high-throughput sequencing has resulted in large datasets of protein sequences but their corresponding 3D structures still needs to be determined. Homology modeling, also termed as Comparative modeling refers to modeling of 3D structure of a protein by exploiting structural information from other known protein structures with good sequence similarity. Homology models contain sufficient information about the spatial arrangement of important residues in the protein and are often used in drug design for screening of large libraries by molecular docking techniques. This chapter provides a brief description about protein tertiary structure prediction and Homology modeling. The authors provide a description of the steps involved in homology modeling protocols and provide information on the various resources available for the same.