This web facility is devoted to small hydrogen-bonded motifs, such as Beta Turns, Schellman loops and Beta Bulges, that are common constituents of the three-dimensional structure of proteins. A brief summary of available options is given below, but if you have not used the facility before you may first wish to review the screen-shots on our introductory page.
General Motif Information
General summary information is available for the motifs in the database, as are graphs of the distribution of amino acids and dihedral angles at different positions within a motif. After reviewing the database in May 2009, we have revised and increased the range of motifs, and redefined some of them and their subcategories. The ‘Motif Glossary’ (link above, right) has full descriptions of the motifs following this reclassification.
Exploring the Motifs
The facility lets you search our database for motifs in particular proteins, motifs near to ligands or at active sites, or within specific sequences. Motifs can be viewed in the three-dimensional context of the whole protein, as well as in tabular form or superimposed on a diagram of secondary structure. You can also make specialized queries for overlapping motifs or specific motif subcategories.
Browser Requirements
A reasonably modern web browser is required with Java and JavaScript enabled. With some browsers pop-up blockers may need to be turned off. (See ‘Help & Reference’ for further details.)