Home
 

Genomics

DNA

Mendel

Heredity

Bioinformatics

Genetic Engineering

DNA Testing

Genetics

Genes

Geneticists

Genetic Testing

Molecular Biology

Punnett

Phenotype

Genetic Code

Recessive

Functional Genomics

Structural Genomics

Gene Letter

Biotech

Cloning Animals

Biotechnology

Genetic Twins

Site map Audio Books

Language

Structural Genomics Information Resources

Structural genomics is the arm of bioscience that determines the three-dimensional macromolecular structures of proteins, using computational technologies and theoretical modelling. The field is often responsible for actualising the structure of proteins before their function is known. This raises a particular challenge, determining (or predicting) protein function from its 3D structure.

The field of structural genomics is unique from other microbiological disciplines because rather than decoding the structure of individual protein groups, the field pursues the structures of proteins on a genome-wide scale. This means considerable emphasis is placed on high throughput of protein structure analysis, requiring specific biotechnological applications to be formulated.

Since the completion of human genome sequencing, attention has focused upon characterising proteins and establishing their functions, as proteins are the products of genes. Due to the availability of genomic sequence data, several groups from around the globe have begun structural genomic projects. The aim is to coordinate international effort in order to determine protein structures on a macro scale.

The ultimate objective is to ensure that clinical and biological researchers know the structural characteristics of genes, so that the role of proteins and normal biological processes are better understood, subsequently allowing disease and mutations to be more clearly recognised and treated.

Objectives such as these specified by structural geneticists would not be achievable without the high-throughput computational technologies such as X-ray crystallography or NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopy. For example, NMR is a technique that utilises the magnetic properties of particular nuclei to elicit information about the number and type of chemical entities in a molecule.

These technologies allow for the systematic sampling of major protein families, enabling large collections of protein structures to be documented. Using data elicited within experimental environments can be useful for modelling the structures of other related protein families, producing structural coverage of the majority of sequenced genotypes.

The development of innovative and novel approaches to high-throughput analysis of protein structure is another key focus of the structural genetics field. As well as expediting the structural determination process, the cost of such investigation is substantially lower for high-volume surveys. The technological advancements developed within the field are also beneficial to other scientific fields such as general structural biology.

These technologies were born out of a desire to increase the success rate of structure determination, whilst lowering the cost of such surveys. Utilising these technologies also allows another key objective to be achieved, namely the construction of a protein structure determination pipeline, allowing for collaborative works from researchers around the world.

Once this pipeline/database of protein structures grows, it could potentially have a significant affect on biological and medical research in the same way as the Human Genome Project. Structural understandings of proteins will help researchers to decipher the function-structure relationship, allowing better experimental hypotheses to be designed.

Since medicines largely target certain protein groups, the pharmaceutical industry will be able to identify leading compounds and how these can be optimised for particular protein structures. More generally, the projects undertaken by structural geneticists will enable biomedical researchers to gather a wider array of information.