GalaxyHomomer: a web server for protein homo-oligomer structure prediction from a monomer sequence or structure

Area of Science:

• * Structural biology
• * Computational biology
• * Bioinformatics

Background:

• * Protein homo-oligomerization is vital for numerous biological processes, including metabolism, signal transduction, and immunity.
• * Understanding protein homo-oligomer structures is essential for elucidating molecular mechanisms of protein function and regulation.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To introduce the GalaxyHomomer server, a novel web tool for predicting protein homo-oligomer structures.
• * To provide a versatile platform integrating template-based modeling, ab initio docking, and advanced refinement techniques.

Main Methods:

• * GalaxyHomomer employs template-based modeling using existing homo-oligomer structures and ab initio docking of monomer units.
• * The server incorporates advanced model refinement strategies to enhance prediction accuracy.
• * Users can customize predictions based on available monomer structure data, oligomeric state, and loop/terminus information.

Main Results:

• * The GalaxyHomomer server demonstrated superior or comparable performance against existing methods on benchmark datasets.
• * Blind testing in the recent Critical Assessment of protein Structure Prediction (CASP) confirmed the server's effectiveness.

Conclusions:

• * GalaxyHomomer provides a robust and user-friendly solution for predicting protein homo-oligomer structures.
• * The server facilitates deeper insights into protein function and regulation through accurate structural modeling.