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Sci. STKE, 24 July 2007
Vol. 2007, Issue 396, p. tw265
[DOI: 10.1126/stke.3962007tw265]

EDITORS' CHOICE

Biochemistry To Cluster or Not to Cluster

Valda J. Vinson

Science, AAAS, Washington, DC 20005, USA

The PDZ domain is a frequently occurring interaction domain in eukaryotic proteins that binds to the C termini of target proteins. PDZ domains have been thought to cluster into functional classes, each with distinct sequence binding preferences. Using a combination of experimental data and modeling, Stiffler et al. predict PDZ domain-peptide interactions across the mouse proteome. Instead of observing clustering, they find that PDZ domains are evenly distributed throughout selectivity space likely to minimize cross-reactivity. The study highlights focusing on families of interaction domains as a productive approach to gain insight into protein function.

M. A. Stiffler, J. R. Chen, V. P. Grantcharova, Y. Lei, D. Fuchs, J. E. Allen, L. A. Zaslavskaia, G. MacBeath, PDZ domain binding selectivity is optimized across the mouse proteome. Science 317, 364-369 (2007). [Abstract] [Full Text]

Citation: V. J. Vinson, To Cluster or Not to Cluster. Sci. STKE 2007, tw265 (2007).

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