Intrinsically Unstructured Proteins - Sequence Signatures of Disorder

Sequence Signatures of Disorder

Intrinsically unstructured proteins are characterized by a low content of bulky hydrophobic amino acids and a high proportion of polar and charged amino acids. Thus disordered sequences cannot bury sufficient hydrophobic core to fold like stable globular proteins. In some cases, hydrophobic clusters in disordered sequences provide the clues for identifying the regions that undergo coupled folding and binding. Such signatures are the basis of the prediction methods below.

Many disordered proteins also reveal low complexity sequences, i.e. sequences with overrepresentation of a few residues. While low complexity sequences are a strong indication of disorder, the reverse is not necessarily true, that is, not all disordered proteins have low complexity sequences. Disordered proteins have a low content of predicted secondary structure.