The Blocks database--a system for protein classification
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Updated: Nov 6, 2026

07:49
Creating and Applying a Reference to Facilitate the Discussion and Classification of Proteins in a Diverse Group
Published on: August 16, 2017
S Pietrokovski1, J G Henikoff, S Henikoff
1Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98104, USA.
Nucleic Acids Research
|January 1, 1996
Abstract:
The Blocks Database contains multiple alignments of conserved regions in protein families. The database can be searched by e-mail and World Wide Web(WWW) servers (http://blocks.fhcrc.org/help) to classify protein and nucleotide sequences.
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Protein Families
Protein families are groups of homologous proteins; that is, they have similarities in amino acid sequences and three-dimensional structures. Protein families usually occur because of gene duplication, where an additional copy of a gene is inserted into the genome of an organism. Mutations that change the amino acids but still allow the protein to be properly synthesized, will lead to new protein family members. If these new proteins contain similar amino acids in key locations, protein...
Protein Families
Protein families are groups of homologous proteins; that is, they have similarities in amino acid sequences and three-dimensional structures. Protein families usually occur because of gene duplication, where an additional copy of a gene is inserted into the genome of an organism. Mutations that change the amino acids but still allow the protein to be properly synthesized, will lead to new protein family members. If these new proteins contain similar amino acids in key locations, protein...
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These interactions can be represented through maps depicting protein-protein interaction networks, represented as nodes and edges. Nodes are circles that are representative of a protein,...
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An organism can have thousands of different proteins, and these proteins must cooperate to ensure the health of an organism. Proteins bind to other proteins and form complexes to carry out their functions. Many proteins interact with multiple other proteins creating a complex network of protein interactions.
These interactions can be represented through maps depicting protein-protein interaction networks, represented as nodes and edges. Nodes are circles that are representative of a protein,...
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The primary structure of a protein is its amino acid sequence.
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Proteins are one of the fundamental building blocks of life that carry out many diverse functions in the cell. Proteins are assembled from amino acids. The sequence of amino acids is known as the primary structure of a protein. Local interactions of individual amino acids cause the linear chain to fold into the secondary structures. Interactions of distant amino acids lead to further folding of the protein—the tertiary structure. The assembly of multiple folded chains (subunits) is known as...

