WWW access to the SYSTERS protein sequence cluster set

Area of Science:

• Bioinformatics
• Computational Biology
• Protein Science

Background:

• The SYSTERS protein cluster set, derived from SWISS-PROT and PIR databases, is a valuable resource for protein sequence analysis.
• Access to curated protein databases and clustering information is crucial for understanding protein families and functions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel web server for querying and browsing the SYSTERS protein cluster set.
• To enable users to search the SYSTERS database with new protein sequences.
• To provide annotated multiple sequence alignments for each cluster.

Main Methods:

• Development of a web server interface for the SYSTERS cluster set.
• Implementation of the SSMAL (Sequence Similarity Search using a Multiple Alignment Library) tool for sequence searching.
• Generation and annotation of multiple sequence alignments using domain information from the Pfam database.

Main Results:

• A publicly accessible web server is now available for the SYSTERS cluster set.
• The server allows for efficient searching of protein sequences against the clustered database.
• Each cluster includes a multiple alignment annotated with Pfam domain information, aiding functional inference.

Conclusions:

• The SYSTERS web server enhances accessibility and utility of protein cluster data.
• This resource facilitates protein sequence analysis, comparison, and functional annotation.
• The integration of search tools and domain information supports research in protein evolution and function.