PURE: a web server for querying the relationship between pre-existing domains and unassigned regions in proteins

Abstract

Protein domains are the structural and functional units of proteins. The ability to parse proteins into different domains is important for effective classification, understanding of protein structure, function and evolution and is hence biologically relevant. Several computational methods are available to identify domains in the sequence. Domain finding algorithms often employ stringent thresholds to recognize sequence domains. Identification of additional domains can be tedious involving intense computation and manual intervention but can lead to better understanding of overall biological function. In this context, the problem of identifying new domains in the unassigned regions of a protein sequence assumes a crucial importance. We report the availability of a convenient server for the domain prediction in unassigned regions in proteins (PURE) which can be accessed at http://caps.ncbs.res.in/PURE/.