Population statistics of protein structures: lessons from structural classifications
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Updated: Aug 11, 2026

A Protocol for Computer-Based Protein Structure and Function Prediction
Published on: November 3, 2011
S E Brenner1, C Chothia, T J Hubbard
1Structural Biology Centre, National Institute for Bioscience and Human-Technology, Ibaraki, Japan. brenner@hyper.stanford.edu
Abstract:
Structural classifications aid the interpretation of proteins by describing degrees of structural and evolutionary relatedness. They have also recently revealed strikingly skewed distributions at all levels; for example, a small number of folds are far more common than others, and just a few superfamilies are known to have diverged widely. The classifications also provide an indication of the total number of superfamilies in nature.
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