Statistical Analysis of Walker-A Motif-Containing β-α-β Supersecondary Structures in the Protein Data Bank

We introduce our approach to analyzing the entire Protein Data Bank (PDB) by combining state-of-the-art bioinformatic tools. As an interesting case, we report sequence/conformation analysis of Walker-A motifs and β-α-β supersecondary structures with/without this motif. Statistical analysis revealed that Walker-A motifs strongly correlate with β-α-β units having one or two intervening β-strands, while in general β-α-β units tend to exhibit direct contacts between the β-strands without intervening β-strands.