How do you predict the 3-D structure of a protein with respect to bio-informatics?

Answer 1

There are three main protein structures. Primary, secondary, and tertiary.

Primary Structure:- This structure consists of a linear, unbranched polypeptide strand. This structure is established by covalent bonding

Secondary Structure:- There are two different types of secondary structures of proteins; α-helix and β-pleated. This type of protein structure is maintained by hydrogen bonding. An example of a α-helix is DNA.

Tertiary Structure:- This is structure is maintained by Hydrogen bonding, disulfide linkages and van der Waals forces. It usually consists of two or more polypeptide chains. An example is the K+/Na+ pumps found on the surface of the plasma membrane.

And, for proteins constituted by more than one polypeptidic chain, there's also a Quaternary Structure, which results from the association among the chains. As examples, insulin and hemoglobin are proteins with quaternary structure.

Answer 2

One common method is using homology modeling, which predicts a protein's 3D structure based on its similarity to a known protein structure. This involves aligning the target sequence with a template structure and creating a model based on that alignment. Other methods include de novo modeling using physical principles or experimental techniques like X-ray crystallography or NMR spectroscopy.