What is a protein domain?
Protein domains are distinct sections of a protein that have a functional or structural role. Domains are typically responsible for a specific function or interaction and contribute to the overall function of the protein itself, which can have multiple domains [1]. Below are two domains identified in the OPA3 gene, found in SMART [2]. SMART uses the sequence of the given protein to predict what domains are likely present in the protein. This allows us to better understand the function(s) of the protein and gives direction for how to research the disease and gene.
Figure 1. OPA3 Domains, the first domain belongs to the OPA3 family (Optic Atrophy Protein 3). LC stands for low-complexity, this indicates that this particular sequence is one of the many very common sequences in Eukaryotic organisms [3].
What do OPA3's domains tell us?
Looking at the protein domains across these species gives us an idea of what domains are present and how similar the genes are in the different model organisms. Additionally, the LC (low-complexity) domain presents a potential area of study to uncover the specific function of that domain and therefor the protein.
This web page was produced as an assignment for Genetics 564, a capstone course at UW-Madison.
References
[1] EMBL-EBI, retrieved April 7th, 2024 from, What are protein domains? | Protein classification (ebi.ac.uk)
[2] SMART Sequence Analysis, accessed April 7th, 2024 from SMART: Main page (embl-heidelberg.de)
[3] Kato M, Zhou X, McKnight SL. How do protein domains of low sequence complexity work? RNA. 2022 Jan;28(1):3-15. doi: 10.1261/rna.078990.121. Epub 2021 Oct 20. PMID: 34670847; PMCID: PMC8675291.
Figure 1. Domains and amino acid locations taken from SMART (link above). Illistrations made in PowerPoint.
[2] SMART Sequence Analysis, accessed April 7th, 2024 from SMART: Main page (embl-heidelberg.de)
[3] Kato M, Zhou X, McKnight SL. How do protein domains of low sequence complexity work? RNA. 2022 Jan;28(1):3-15. doi: 10.1261/rna.078990.121. Epub 2021 Oct 20. PMID: 34670847; PMCID: PMC8675291.
Figure 1. Domains and amino acid locations taken from SMART (link above). Illistrations made in PowerPoint.