DINAMO: a coupled sequence alignment editor/molecular graphics tool for interactive homology modeling of proteins

Gaining functional information about a novel protein is a universal problem in biomedical research. With the explosive growth of the protein sequence and structural databases, it is becoming increasingly common for researchers to attempt to build a three-dimensional model of their protein of interest in order to gain information about its structure and interactions with other molecules. The two most reliable methods for predicting the structure of a protein are homology modeling, in which the novel sequence is modeled on the known three-dimensional structure of a related protein, and fold recognition (threading), where the sequence is scored against a library of fold models, and the highest scoring model is selected. The sequence alignment to a known structure can be ambiguous, and human intervention is often required to optimize the model. We describe an interactive model building and assessment tool in which a sequence alignment editor is dynamically coupled to a molecular graphics display. By means of a set of assessment tools, the user may optimize his or her alignment to satisfy the known heuristics of protein structure. Adjustments to the sequence alignment made by the user are reflected in the displayed model by color and other visual cues. For instance, residues are colored by hydrophobicity in both the three-dimensional model and in the sequence alignment. This aids the user in identifying undesirable buried polar residues. Several different evaluation metrics may be selected including residue conservation, residue properties, and visualization of predicted secondary structure. These characteristics may be mapped to the model both singly and in combination. DINAMO is a Java-based tool that may be run either over the web or installed locally. Its modular architecture also allows Java-literate users to add plug-ins of their own design.