Protein Structure and Function. Application of Bioinformatics Methods - John Rigden 2014

Prediction of Protein Function from Surface Properties
Functional Prediction Based on Surface Properties
Surface Conservation

Surface conservation, evaluated using the ConSurf algorithm, has proven useful for predicting the Functions of certain Proteins. One example of its application is the analysis of C-type lectin (CTL) proteins located on The Cell surface that bind Glycoproteins involved in Immunity and endocytosis (Ebner et al. 2003). These proteins share a Structure very similar to that of C-type lectin-like domains (CTLDs); however, the latter are unable to bind functional carbohydrate groups. Analyzing all domain subunits using the ConSurf program proved effective in identifying residues that form a conserved surface and define the active sites of CTL proteins. Such residues are entirely absent in CTL-like domains, and this distinction has been utilized to classify CTL/CTLD domains of unknown function.



Last update: 06/08/2026

Editorial and Educational Adaptation: This material has been compiled based on the primary/original source text. The project team performed an editorial review, corrected technical inaccuracies, structured sections, and adapted the content for an educational format.

What was processed:

  • elimination of formatting defects (OCR errors, structural breaks, corrupted characters);
  • editorial organization of content;
  • standardization of terminology in accordance with academic sources;
  • verification of factual statements against the original source text.

All mentions of the author, publication year, and origin of the primary text have been preserved in accordance with the source.