Date of Presentation
4-26-2019 8:00 AM
College
College of Science & Mathematics
Faculty Sponsor(s)
Stephanie J. Spielman, PhD, Rowan University
Poster Abstract
A short linear motif (SLiM) is a recurring pattern of approximately three to ten amino acids found in proteins. SLiMs are important for cellular signaling and the regulating of proteins, often times by acting as binding sites for protein-binding domains. While SLiMs exist both in ordered regions of proteins where there is a tertiary structure and in disordered regions where there is no structure, they are primarily functional in disordered regions. An important example of SLiM-mediated processes and the focus of this study is endocytosis. Endocytosis is the process by which cells engulf molecules from the extracellular environment. There are specific motifs that mediate and trigger endocytosis. However, the short length of motifs means that it is easy to overlook those that may be important to biological functions. The goal of this study is to identify previously unrecognized proteins that may be involved in endocytosis by analyzing the distribution of motifs in the ordered and disordered regions of the human proteome. Using a bioinformatics approach, we systematically searched the entire human proteome for motifs known to be involved in endocytosis. We hypothesize that the proteins we find to be enriched with motifs in disordered regions may be functionally important for endocytosis. These proteins will be targeted for experimental validation.
Student Keywords
short linear motif (SLiM), cellular signaling, proteins, endocytosis
Disciplines
Bioinformatics
Document Type
Poster
Included in
Analysis of Motif Distributions in Regions of Endocytic Proteins
A short linear motif (SLiM) is a recurring pattern of approximately three to ten amino acids found in proteins. SLiMs are important for cellular signaling and the regulating of proteins, often times by acting as binding sites for protein-binding domains. While SLiMs exist both in ordered regions of proteins where there is a tertiary structure and in disordered regions where there is no structure, they are primarily functional in disordered regions. An important example of SLiM-mediated processes and the focus of this study is endocytosis. Endocytosis is the process by which cells engulf molecules from the extracellular environment. There are specific motifs that mediate and trigger endocytosis. However, the short length of motifs means that it is easy to overlook those that may be important to biological functions. The goal of this study is to identify previously unrecognized proteins that may be involved in endocytosis by analyzing the distribution of motifs in the ordered and disordered regions of the human proteome. Using a bioinformatics approach, we systematically searched the entire human proteome for motifs known to be involved in endocytosis. We hypothesize that the proteins we find to be enriched with motifs in disordered regions may be functionally important for endocytosis. These proteins will be targeted for experimental validation.