Efficient shape descriptors for feature extraction in 3D protein structures

Structural Genomics initiatives are generating an increasing number of protein structures with very limited biochemical characterization. Characterization of a protein's function and understanding the specific nature of a protein's binding is a critical part of both protein engineering and structure-based drug discovery. The accurate detection of binding site in these protein structures can be valuable in determining its function. As shape plays a crucial role in bimolecular recognition and function, the development of shape analysis techniques is important for understanding protein structure-function relationships. This paper describes the use of the continuous wavelet transforms (CWT) for characterizing shape features of 3D protein structures. The goal is to explore the CWT as a multiscale tool to generate rotation- and translation-invariant shape features.