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

Spatial Motifs
Background and Significance
Structural Motifs: Definition and Scope

Structure/135.html">Structural motifs are sets of spatial points based on the arrangement of specific residues (usually no more than a dozen) associated with a particular protein function or Classification of interest. Sometimes referred to as Active Site templates—since the residues may be involved in forming a catalytic pocket or binding site—or as structural templates, motif matching utilizes information on the coordinates of one or more atoms per residue, with these points tagged by additional data such as atom and residue type. Structural motifs are local and discrete; their constituent residues are close in space but not necessarily adjacent in the Amino Acid Sequence, and the sequential order of residues is generally disregarded during matching. Motifs do not describe the conformation of the entire peptide chain or domains.



Last update: 06/08/2026

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