This work was done in collaboration
with Dr. Eva Neer,
in whose memory this page
is dedicated.
A library of WD-repeat containing proteins has been constructed in which the repeats appear as multi-aligned sets. WD-repeat-containing proteins are those that contain 4 or more copies of the WD-repeat (tryptophan-aspartate repeat), a sequence motif approximately 31 amino acids long, that encodes a structural repeat. This repeat is described by the following profile, where x is ANY amino acid. By clicking on each high-lighted character you will obtain the distribution of amino acids found at that position of the repeat among an aligned set of WD-repeat containing proteins.
(click on each position to see the actual counts of amino acids in that position in a non-redundant set of 776 WD-repeats [from the 123 WD-repeat proteins in SWISS-PROT / TrEMBL] )
Strand d Strand a Strand b Strand c ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________
x x x x x x x[1-?] G H x x x V x x V x F x x[0-?] P D G[0-3] x L A S G S x D x T I K V W D A I L W S N S I V T A G S V R L F N I L D S P V L S A L I Y C I F I C A V
The tertiary structure of only one member of this family has been determined, that of the G protein beta
subunit, which contains 7 WD-repeats. Each of the 7 repeats folds into a small antiparallel beta-sheet.
The over-lines above indicate the position of these strands, with "a" being the strand closest to the
central pore and "d" at the external surface of the folded protein. These sheets are arranged around a central
pseudosymmetry axis into a
beta propeller.
Search a sequence for WD-Repeats.
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Related Publications
[1] Neer EJ, Schmidt CJ, Nambudripad R & Smith TF: "The ancient regulatory-protein family of WD-repeat proteins," Nature 371, 297-300 (1994) PMID: 8090199
[2] Smith TF, Gaitatzes CG, Saxena K & Neer EJ: "The WD-repeat: a common architecture for diverse functions," TIBS 24, 181-185 (1999) PMID: 10322433
[3] Wall MA, Coleman DE, Lee E, Iniguez-Lluhi JA, Posner BA Gilman AG & Sprang SR: "The structure of the G protein heterotrimer Gi alpha 1 beta 1 gamma 2," Cell 83, 1047-1058 (1995) PMID: 8521505
[4] Sondek J, Bohm A, Lambright DG, Hamm HE & Sigler PB: "Crystal structure of a G-protein beta gamma dimer at 2.1A resolution," Nature 379, 369-374 (1996) PMID: 8552196
[5] Neer EJ & Smith TF: "G protein heterodimers: new structures propel new questions," Cell 84, 175-178 (1996) PMID: 8565060
[6] Garcia-Higuera I, Fenoglio J, Li Y, Lewis C, Panchenko MP, Reiner O, Smith TF & Neer EJ: "Folding of proteins with WD-repeats: comparison of six members of the WD-repeat superfamily to the G protein beta subunit," Biochemistry 35, 13985-13994 (1996) PMID: 8909296
[7] Yu L, Gaitatzes CG, Neer EJ & Smith TF: "Thirty-plus functional families from a single motif," Protein Science 9, 2470-2476 (2000) PMID: 11206068
