blastprodom

blastprodom performs protein function prediction by integrating recursive PSI-BLAST searches with the ProDom protein domain database to identify conserved domains and distant homologs, including multifunctional (moonlighting) proteins.

Key Features:

• Recursive PSI-BLAST Searches: Performs iterative PSI-BLAST (Position-Specific Iterated BLAST) searches to detect distant homologs and refine search sensitivity.
• Integration with ProDom Database: Maps PSI-BLAST results to ProDom protein domain families derived from multiple sequence alignments for domain-based function inference.
• Focus on Multifunctional Proteins: Targets prediction of alternative or multiple functions in multifunctional ('moonlighting') proteins by combining domain mapping and homology detection.

Scientific Applications:

• Predicting Protein Functions: Identifies conserved domains and homologous sequences to infer potential functions of uncharacterized proteins.
• Studying Multifunctional Proteins: Enables analysis of proteins with multiple roles by detecting domain combinations and distant homologs indicative of alternative functions.
• Enhancing Protein Annotation: Provides domain- and homology-based evidence to improve functional annotations in protein databases.

Methodology:

blastprodom conducts an initial PSI-BLAST search, performs iterative PSI-BLAST refinements incorporating newly identified sequences, and maps the results to ProDom protein domains.