基于多样性指标的分枝杆菌蛋白质亚细胞定位预测

由于蛋白质亚细胞位置与其一级序列存在很强的相关性,利用多样性增量来描述蛋白质之间氨基酸组分和二肽组分的相似程度,采用修正的马氏判别式（这里称为IDQD方法）对分枝杆菌蛋白质的亚细胞位置进行了预测。利用Jackknife检验对不同序列相似度下的蛋白质数据集进行了预测研究,结果显示,当数据集的序列相似度小于等于70％时,算法的预测精度稳定在75％左右。在对整体852条蛋白质的预测成功率达到87．7％,这一结果优于已有算法的预测精度,说明IDQD是一种有效的分枝杆菌蛋白质亚细胞预测方法。     

用ID-SVM预测蛋白质的ATP结合位点

从蛋白质序列出发,对经Dr．G．P．S．Raghava整理和使用过的168条非冗余的ATP与蛋白质结合氨基酸序列进行分段,对ATP与蛋白质结合位点进行了统计分析。在此基础上,利用20种氨基酸的亲疏水性将20种氨基酸约化为6类。以氨基酸组分和6类亲疏水紧邻为参数,用多样性增量（ID）方法将氨基酸组分和6类亲疏水紧邻降维并将降维后的特征参数输入支持向量机中运算,本文运算结果显示用氨基酸组分ID值和6类亲疏水紧邻ID值共同作为特征参数结果最优,在七交叉检验下的预测总精度达到了99．67％,相关系数达到0．9934,好于前人的预测结果。     

利用分组重量编码预测细胞凋亡蛋白的亚细胞定位

从氨基酸的物化特性出发,利用物理学中“粗粒化”和“分组”的思想,提出了一种新的蛋白质序列特征提取方法——分组重量编码方法。采用组分耦合算法作为分类器,从蛋白质一级序列出发对细胞凋亡蛋白的亚细胞定位进行研究。针对Zhou和Doctor使用的数据集,Re—substitution和Jackknife检验总体预测精度分别为98、O％和85．7％,比基于氨基酸组成和组分耦合算法的总体预测精度提高了7．2％和13．2％;针对陈颖丽和李前忠使用的数据集,Re—substitution和Jackknife检验总体预测精度分别为94．0％和80、1％,比基于二肽组成和离散增量算法的总体预测精度提高了5．9％和2、0％。针对我们自己整理的最新数据集,通过Re—substitution和Jackknife检验,总体预测精度分别为97．33％和75、11％。实验结果表明蛋白质序列的分组重量编码对于细胞凋亡蛋白的定位研究是一种有效的特征提取方法。     

随机森林方法预测膜蛋白类型

膜蛋白的类型与其功能是密切相关的,因此膜蛋白类型的预测是研究其功能的重要手段,从蛋白质的氨基酸序列出发对膜蛋白的类型进行预测有重要意义。文章基于蛋白质的氨基酸序列,将组合离散增量和伪氨基酸组分信息共同作为预测参数,采用随机森林分类器,对8类膜蛋白进行了预测。在Jackknife检验下的预测精度为86.3%,独立检验的预测精度为93.8%,取得了好于前人的预测结果。     

基于模糊支持向量机的膜蛋白折叠类型预测

现有的基于支持向量机（support vector machine,SVM）来预测膜蛋白折叠类型的方法．利用的蛋白质序列特征并不充分．并且在处理多类蛋白质分类问题时存在不可分区域,针对这两类问题．提取蛋白质序列的氨基酸和二肽组成特征,并计算加权的多阶氨基酸残基指数相关系数特征,将3类特征融和作为分类器的输入特征矢量．并采用模糊SVM（fuzzy SVM,FSVM）算法解决对传统SVM不可分数据的分类．在无冗余的数据集上测试结果显示．改进的特征提取方法在相同分类算法下预测性能优于已有的特征提取方法：FSVM在相同特征提取方法下性能优于传统的SVM．二者相结合的分类策略在独立性数据集测试下的预测精度达到96．6％．优于现有的多种预测方法．能够作为预测膜蛋白和其它蛋白质折叠类型的有效工具．     

基于最优分割位点的蛋白质亚细胞位点预测方法

蛋白质的亚细胞位点信息有助于我们了解蛋白质的功能以及它们之间的相互作用,同时还可以为新药物的研发提供帮助。目前普遍采用的亚细胞位点预测方法主要是基于N端分选信号或氨基酸组分特征,但研究表明,单纯基于N端分选信号或氨基酸组分的方法都会丢失序列的序信息。为了克服此缺陷,本文提出了一种基于最优分割位点的蛋白质亚细胞位点预测方法。首先,把每条蛋白质序列分割为N端、中间和C端三部分,然后在每个子序列和整条序列中分别提取氨基酸组分、双肽组分和物理化学性质,最后我们把这些特征融合起来作为整条序列的特征。通过夹克刀检验,该方法在NNPSL数据集上得到的总体精度分别是87.8%和92.1%。     

基于氨基酸和二肽组成的蛋白质四级结构分类研究

基于最近邻居算法,从蛋白质一级序列出发,利用蛋白质序列氨基酸组成、二肤组成以及混合组成方法对蛋白质单聚体、二聚体、三聚体、四聚体、五聚体、六聚体和八聚体进行分类研究。结果表明:采用二肽组成编码方法的预洲效果最好,Jackknife检验和独立测试集检验的总体预测精度分别达到90.83%和95.48%,比相同数据集上基于伪氨基酸组成和组分耦合预测的方法提高了12和15个百分点;特别是对于五聚体蛋白,预测精度分别提高了90和50个百分点;说明二肽组成对于蛋白质四级结构分类研究是一种非常有效的特征提取方法。     

新疆准噶尔小胸鳖甲抗冻蛋白基因的克隆和抗冻活性分析

根据GenBank中已发表的昆虫抗冻蛋白基因的保守序列设计引物,利用RT-PCR技术结合3'-RACE扩增的方法,从新疆荒漠昆虫准噶尔小胸鳖甲 Microdera punctipenis dzunarica中获得了长约294 bp不含信号肽的抗冻蛋白cDNA片段,命名为MpAFP5,其全长序列为363 bp(GenBank注册号为：AY821792)。基因测序结果表明, MpAFP5-cDNA片段与加拿大拟步甲Dendroides canadensis AFP 8基因片段、黄粉甲Tenebrio molitor THP 4-9基因片段的核苷酸同源性分别达68.4%和71.8%,氨基酸序列同源性分别达70%和81%。将MpAFP5构建到原核表达载体pGEX4T-1中,重组质粒pGEX4T-1-MpAFP5在大肠杆菌BL21(DE3)中能够表达融合抗冻蛋白,SDS-PAGE分析显示融合蛋白的分子量约为37 kD,Western印迹分析证明MpAFP5在大肠杆菌中正确表达。细菌的抗冻实验结果显示准噶尔小胸鳖甲融合抗冻蛋白对细菌具有显著的抗冻保护作用,保护效果与抗冻蛋白剂量呈正相关性。     

从氨基酸序列预测蛋白质折叠速率

蛋白质折叠速率预测是当今生物物理学最具挑战性的课题之一．近年来,许多科研工作者开展了大量的研究工作来探索折叠速率的决定因素,许多参数和方法被相继提出．但氨基酸残基间的相互作用、氨基酸的序列顺序等信息对折叠速率的影响从未被提及．采用伪氨基酸组成的方法提取氨基酸的序列顺序信息,利用蒙特卡洛方法选择最佳特征因子,建立线性回归模型进行折叠速率预测．该方法能在不需要任何(显示)结构信息的情况下,直接从蛋白质的氨基酸序列出发对折叠速率进行预测．在Jackknife交互检验方法的验证下,对含有99个蛋白质的数据集,发现折叠速率的预测值与实验值有很好的相关性,相关系数能达到0.81,预测误差仅为2.54．这一精度明显优于其他基于序列的方法,充分说明蛋白质的序列顺序信息是影响蛋白质折叠速率的重要因素．     

基于序列疏水值震荡的折叠速率预测

蛋白质折叠速率的正确预测对理解蛋白质的折叠机理非常重要。本文从伪氨基酸组成的方法出发,提出利用序列疏水值震荡的方法来提取蛋白质氨基酸的序列顺序信息,建立线性回归模型进行折叠速率预测。该方法不需要蛋白质的任何二级结构、三级结构信息或结构类信息,可直接从序列对蛋白质折叠速率进行预测。对含有62个蛋白质的数据集,经过Jack．knife交互检验验证,相关系数达到0．804,表示折叠速率预测值与实验值有很好的相关性,说明了氨基酸序列信息对蛋白质折叠速率影响重要。同其他方法相比,本文的方法具有计算简单,输入参数少等特点。     

A 9 kDa antifreeze protein from the Antarctic springtail, Gomphiocephalus hodgsoni

A 9 kDA antifreeze protein (AFP) was isolated and purified from the Antarctic springtail, Gomphiocephalus hodgsoni. By combining selective sampling procedures and a modified ice affinity purification protocol it was possible to directly isolate a single AFP protein without recourse to chromatographic separation techniques. Mass spectrometry identified a single 9 kDa component in the purified ice fraction. Intramolecular disulphide bonding was suggested by the presence of 12 cysteine residues. The specific amino acid composition is unique, particularly with regard to the presence of histidine (11.5%). But it also shows noticeable commonalities with insect AFPs in the abundance of cysteine (13.8%), while simultaneously hinting, through the presence of glycine (11.5%), that the metabolic building blocks of AFPs in Collembola may have a phylogenetically-determined component.     

Positive Darwinian Selection Promotes Heterogeneity Among Members of the Antifreeze Protein Multigene Family

A variety of organisms have independently evolved proteins exhibiting antifreeze activity that allows survival at subfreezing temperatures. The antifreeze proteins (AFPs) bind ice nuclei and depress the freezing point by a noncolligative absorption–inhibition mechanism. Many organisms have a heterogeneous suite of AFPs with variation in primary sequence between paralogous loci. Here, we demonstrate that the diversification of the AFP paralogues is promoted by positive Darwinian selection in two independently evolved AFPs from fish and beetle. First, we demonstrate an elevated rate of nonsynonymous substitutions compared to synonymous substitutions in the mature protein coding region. Second, we perform phylogeny-based tests of selection to demonstrate a subset of codons is subjected to positive selection. When mapped onto the three-dimensional structure of the fish antifreeze type III antifreeze structure, these codons correspond to amino acid positions that surround but do not interrupt the putative ice-binding surface. The selective agent may be related to efficient binding to diverse ice surfaces or some other aspect of AFP function. Received: 27 February 2001 / Accepted: 12 September 2001     

Antifreeze proteins in higher plants

Overwintering plants produce antifreeze proteins (AFPs) having the ability to adsorb onto the surface of ice crystals and modify their growth. Recently, several AFPs have been isolated and characterized and five full-length AFP cDNAs have been cloned and characterized in higher plants. The derived amino acid sequences have shown low homology for identical residues. Theoretical and experimental models for structure of Lolium perenne AFP have been proposed. In addition, it was found that the hormone ethylene is involved in regulating antifreeze activity in response to cold. In this review, it is seen that the physiological and biochemical roles of AFPs may be important to protect the plant tissues from mechanical stress caused by ice formation.     

Targeted expression of redesigned and codon optimised synthetic gene leads to recrystallisation inhibition and reduced electrolyte leakage in spring wheat at sub-zero temperatures

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) adsorb to ice crystals and inhibit their growth, leading to non-colligative freezing point depression. Crops like spring wheat, that are highly susceptible to frost damage, can potentially be made frost tolerant by expressing AFPs in the cytoplasm and apoplast where ice recrystallisation leads to cellular damage. The protein sequence for HPLC-6 α-helical antifreeze protein from winter flounder was rationally redesigned after removing the prosequences in the native protein. Wheat nuclear gene preferred amino acid codons were used to synthesize a recombinant antifreeze gene, rAFPI. Antifreeze protein was targeted to the apoplast using a Murine leader peptide sequence from the mAb24 light chain or retained in the endoplasmic reticulum using C-terminus KDEL sequence. The coding sequences were placed downstream of the rice Actin promoter and Actin-1 intron and upstream of the nopaline synthase terminator in the plant expression vectors. Transgenic wheat lines were generated through micro projectile bombardment of immature embryos of spring wheat cultivar Seri 82. Levels of antifreeze protein in the transgenic lines without any targeting peptide were low (0.06–0.07%). The apoplast-targeted protein reached a level of 1.61% of total soluble protein, 90% of which was present in the apoplast. ER-retained protein accumulated in the cells at levels up to 0.65% of total soluble proteins. Transgenic wheat line T-8 with apoplast-targeted antifreeze protein exhibited the highest levels of antifreeze activity and provided significant freezing protection even at temperatures as low as −7°C.     

Isolation and characterization of hemolymph antifreeze proteins from larvae of the longhorn beetle Rhagium inquisitor (L.)

We describe a simple and effective procedure to isolate antifreeze proteins (AFPs) from the hemolymph of larvae of the longhorn beetle Rhagium inquisitor, and present some characteristics of their structures. Several AFPs were isolated from the hemolymph of this species by heat and acid extraction followed by cation exchange. The hemolymph contains at least six AFPs ranging in size from 12.5 to 12.8 kDa. Of these, three were separated to purity by the ion exchange step, as indicated by mass spectrometry. The remaining three forms were further separated by size exclusion chromatography, but could not be isolated to purity. All AFPs in the hemolymph of this species appears to have isoelectric points above 8.00. The dominant form, RiAFP(H4), was purified by the ion exchange step. Its amino acid composition reveals a lower level of cysteine and a higher level of threonine, arginine, alanine and glycine than seen in other insect AFPs. Its trypsin fingerprint does not match that of any known protein. It interacts with ice both in the anionic and cationic state.     

Solution Structures,Dynamics, and Ice Growth Inhibitory Activity of Peptide Fragments Derived from an Antarctic Yeast Protein

Exotic functions of antifreeze proteins (AFP) and antifreeze glycopeptides (AFGP) have recently been attracted with much interest to develop them as commercial products. AFPs and AFGPs inhibit ice crystal growth by lowering the water freezing point without changing the water melting point. Our group isolated the Antarctic yeast Glaciozyma antarctica that expresses antifreeze protein to assist it in its survival mechanism at sub-zero temperatures. The protein is unique and novel, indicated by its low sequence homology compared to those of other AFPs. We explore the structure-function relationship of G. antarctica AFP using various approaches ranging from protein structure prediction, peptide design and antifreeze activity assays, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies and molecular dynamics simulation. The predicted secondary structure of G. antarctica AFP shows several α-helices, assumed to be responsible for its antifreeze activity. We designed several peptide fragments derived from the amino acid sequences of α-helical regions of the parent AFP and they also showed substantial antifreeze activities, below that of the original AFP. The relationship between peptide structure and activity was explored by NMR spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulation. NMR results show that the antifreeze activity of the peptides correlates with their helicity and geometrical straightforwardness. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulation also suggests that the activity of the designed peptides can be explained in terms of the structural rigidity/flexibility, i.e., the most active peptide demonstrates higher structural stability, lower flexibility than that of the other peptides with lower activities, and of lower rigidity. This report represents the first detailed report of downsizing a yeast AFP into its peptide fragments with measurable antifreeze activities.     

Why does insect antifreeze protein from Tenebrio molitor produce pyramidal ice crystallites?

The antifreeze protein (AFP) reduces the growth rates of the ice crystal facets. In that process the ice morphology undergoes a modification. An AFP-induced surface pinning mechanism, through matching of periodic bond chains in two dimensions, enables two-dimensional regular ice-binding surfaces (IBSs) of the insect AFPs to engage a certain class of ice surfaces, called primary surfaces. They are kinetically stable surfaces with unambiguous and predetermined orientations. In this work, the orientations and molecular compositions of the primary ice surfaces that undergo growth rate reduction by the insect AFPs are obtained from first principles. Besides the basal face and primary prism, the ice surfaces engaged by insect AFPs include the specific ice pyramids produced by the insect AFP Tenebrio molitor (TmAFP). TmAFP-induced pyramids differ fundamentally from the ice pyramids produced by fish AFPs and antifreeze protein glycoproteins (AFPGs) as regards the ice surface configurations and the mode of interaction with the protein IBS. The molecular compositions of the TmAFP-induced pyramids are strongly bonded in two dimensions and have the constant face indices (101). In contrast, the molecular composition of the ice pyramids produced by fish AFPs and AFPGs are strongly bonded in only one direction and have variable face indices (h 0 l), none of which equal (101). The thus far puzzling behavior of the TmAFP in producing pyramidal crystallites is fully explained in agreement with experiment.     

Antifreeze protein from freeze-tolerant grass has a beta-roll fold with an irregularly structured ice-binding site

The grass Lolium perenne produces an ice-binding protein (LpIBP) that helps this perennial tolerate freezing by inhibiting the recrystallization of ice. Ice-binding proteins (IBPs) are also produced by freeze-avoiding organisms to halt the growth of ice and are better known as antifreeze proteins (AFPs). To examine the structural basis for the different roles of these two IBP types, we have solved the first crystal structure of a plant IBP. The 118-residue LpIBP folds as a novel left-handed beta-roll with eight 14- or 15-residue coils and is stabilized by a small hydrophobic core and two internal Asn ladders. The ice-binding site (IBS) is formed by a flat beta-sheet on one surface of the beta-roll. We show that LpIBP binds to both the basal and primary-prism planes of ice, which is the hallmark of hyperactive AFPs. However, the antifreeze activity of LpIBP is less than 10% of that measured for those hyperactive AFPs with convergently evolved beta-solenoid structures. Whereas these hyperactive AFPs have two rows of aligned Thr residues on their IBS, the equivalent arrays in LpIBP are populated by a mixture of Thr, Ser and Val with several side-chain conformations. Substitution of Ser or Val for Thr on the IBS of a hyperactive AFP reduced its antifreeze activity. LpIBP may have evolved an IBS that has low antifreeze activity to avoid damage from rapid ice growth that occurs when temperatures exceed the capacity of AFPs to block ice growth while retaining the ability to inhibit ice recrystallization.     

Cloning and expression of afpA, a gene encoding an antifreeze protein from the arctic plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium Pseudomonas putida GR12-2

The Arctic plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium Pseudomonas putida GR12-2 secretes an antifreeze protein (AFP) that promotes survival at subzero temperatures. The AFP is unusual in that it also exhibits a low level of ice nucleation activity. A DNA fragment with an open reading frame encoding 473 amino acids was cloned by PCR and inverse PCR using primers designed from partial amino acid sequences of the isolated AFP. The predicted gene product, AfpA, had a molecular mass of 47.3 kDa, a pI of 3.51, and no previously known function. Although AfpA is a secreted protein, it lacked an N-terminal signal peptide and was shown by sequence analysis to have two possible secretion systems: a hemolysin-like, calcium-binding secretion domain and a type V autotransporter domain found in gram-negative bacteria. Expression of afpA in Escherichia coli yielded an intracellular 72-kDa protein modified with both sugars and lipids that exhibited lower levels of antifreeze and ice nucleation activities than the native protein. The 164-kDa AFP previously purified from P. putida GR12-2 was a lipoglycoprotein, and the carbohydrate was required for ice nucleation activity. Therefore, the recombinant protein may not have been properly posttranslationally modified. The AfpA sequence was most similar to cell wall-associated proteins and less similar to ice nucleation proteins (INPs). Hydropathy plots revealed that the amino acid sequence of AfpA was more hydrophobic than those of the INPs in the domain that forms the ice template, thus suggesting that AFPs and INPs interact differently with ice. To our knowledge, this is the first gene encoding a protein with both antifreeze and ice nucleation activities to be isolated and characterized.     

AFP-Pred: A random forest approach for predicting antifreeze proteins from sequence-derived properties

Some creatures living in extremely low temperatures can produce some special materials called “antifreeze proteins” (AFPs), which can prevent the cell and body fluids from freezing. AFPs are present in vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, bacteria, fungi, etc. Although AFPs have a common function, they show a high degree of diversity in sequences and structures. Therefore, sequence similarity based search methods often fails to predict AFPs from sequence databases. In this work, we report a random forest approach “AFP-Pred” for the prediction of antifreeze proteins from protein sequence. AFP-Pred was trained on the dataset containing 300 AFPs and 300 non-AFPs and tested on the dataset containing 181 AFPs and 9193 non-AFPs. AFP-Pred achieved 81.33% accuracy from training and 83.38% from testing. The performance of AFP-Pred was compared with BLAST and HMM. High prediction accuracy and successful of prediction of hypothetical proteins suggests that AFP-Pred can be a useful approach to identify antifreeze proteins from sequence information, irrespective of their sequence similarity.