Short linear motifs (SLiMs) in proteins are functional microdomains of fundamental importance in many biological systems. SLiMs typically consist of a 3 to 10 amino acid stretch of the primary ...protein sequence, of which as few as two sites may be important for activity, making identification of novel SLiMs extremely difficult. In particular, it can be very difficult to distinguish a randomly recurring "motif" from a truly over-represented one. Incorporating ambiguous amino acid positions and/or variable-length wildcard spacers between defined residues further complicates the matter.
In this paper we present two algorithms. SLiMBuild identifies convergently evolved, short motifs in a dataset of proteins. Motifs are built by combining dimers into longer patterns, retaining only those motifs occurring in a sufficient number of unrelated proteins. Motifs with fixed amino acid positions are identified and then combined to incorporate amino acid ambiguity and variable-length wildcard spacers. The algorithm is computationally efficient compared to alternatives, particularly when datasets include homologous proteins, and provides great flexibility in the nature of motifs returned. The SLiMChance algorithm estimates the probability of returned motifs arising by chance, correcting for the size and composition of the dataset, and assigns a significance value to each motif. These algorithms are implemented in a software package, SLiMFinder. SLiMFinder default settings identify known SLiMs with 100% specificity, and have a low false discovery rate on random test data.
The efficiency of SLiMBuild and low false discovery rate of SLiMChance make SLiMFinder highly suited to high throughput motif discovery and individual high quality analyses alike. Examples of such analyses on real biological data, and how SLiMFinder results can help direct future discoveries, are provided. SLiMFinder is freely available for download under a GNU license from http://bioinformatics.ucd.ie/shields/software/slimfinder/.
Abstract
The Database of Protein Disorder (DisProt, URL: https://disprot.org) provides manually curated annotations of intrinsically disordered proteins from the literature. Here we report recent ...developments with DisProt (version 8), including the doubling of protein entries, a new disorder ontology, improvements of the annotation format and a completely new website. The website includes a redesigned graphical interface, a better search engine, a clearer API for programmatic access and a new annotation interface that integrates text mining technologies. The new entry format provides a greater flexibility, simplifies maintenance and allows the capture of more information from the literature. The new disorder ontology has been formalized and made interoperable by adopting the OWL format, as well as its structure and term definitions have been improved. The new annotation interface has made the curation process faster and more effective. We recently showed that new DisProt annotations can be effectively used to train and validate disorder predictors. We believe the growth of DisProt will accelerate, contributing to the improvement of function and disorder predictors and therefore to illuminate the ‘dark’ proteome.
The virus life cycle depends on host-virus protein-protein interactions, which often involve a disordered protein region binding to a folded protein domain. Here, we used proteomic peptide phage ...display (ProP-PD) to identify peptides from the intrinsically disordered regions of the human proteome that bind to folded protein domains encoded by the SARS-CoV-2 genome. Eleven folded domains of SARS-CoV-2 proteins were found to bind 281 peptides from human proteins, and affinities of 31 interactions involving eight SARS-CoV-2 protein domains were determined (K
∼ 7-300 μM). Key specificity residues of the peptides were established for six of the interactions. Two of the peptides, binding Nsp9 and Nsp16, respectively, inhibited viral replication. Our findings demonstrate how high-throughput peptide binding screens simultaneously identify potential host-virus interactions and peptides with antiviral properties. Furthermore, the high number of low-affinity interactions suggest that overexpression of viral proteins during infection may perturb multiple cellular pathways.
Short linear motifs (SLiMs) drive dynamic protein-protein interactions essential for signaling, but sequence degeneracy and low binding affinities make them difficult to identify. We harnessed ...unbiased systematic approaches for SLiM discovery to elucidate the regulatory network of calcineurin (CN)/PP2B, the Ca2+-activated phosphatase that recognizes LxVP and PxIxIT motifs. In vitro proteome-wide detection of CN-binding peptides, in vivo SLiM-dependent proximity labeling, and in silico modeling of motif determinants uncovered unanticipated CN interactors, including NOTCH1, which we establish as a CN substrate. Unexpectedly, CN shows SLiM-dependent proximity to centrosomal and nuclear pore complex (NPC) proteins—structures where Ca2+ signaling is largely uncharacterized. CN dephosphorylates human and yeast NPC proteins and promotes accumulation of a nuclear transport reporter, suggesting conserved NPC regulation by CN. The CN network assembled here provides a resource to investigate Ca2+ and CN signaling and demonstrates synergy between experimental and computational methods, establishing a blueprint for examining SLiM-based networks.
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•Global calcineurin signaling in humans revealed through systematic substrate mapping•Discovery of calcineurin-binding sequences enables robust in silico SLiM predictions•BioID uncovers SLiM-dependent calcineurin proximity to nuclear pores and centrosomes•Calcineurin dephosphorylates nuclear pore proteins and regulates transport in vivo
Wigington, Roy, et al. elucidate a signaling network for the Ca2+-activated phosphatase calcineurin by systematically uncovering calcineurin-binding SLiMs throughout the human proteome. Using in vitro, in silico, and in vivo methods, they discover multiple calcineurin substrates, including Notch1 and several nucleoporins, leading to the unexpected finding that calcineurin regulates nuclear transport.
The Eukaryotic Linear Motif (ELM) resource (http://elm.eu.org) is a manually curated database of short linear motifs (SLiMs). In this update, we present the latest additions to this resource, along ...with more improvements to the web interface. ELM 2016 contains more than 240 different motif classes with over 2700 experimentally validated instances, manually curated from more than 2400 scientific publications. In addition, more data have been made available as individually searchable pages and are downloadable in various formats.
Abstract
The Database of Intrinsically Disordered Proteins (DisProt, URL: https://disprot.org) is the major repository of manually curated annotations of intrinsically disordered proteins and regions ...from the literature. We report here recent updates of DisProt version 9, including a restyled web interface, refactored Intrinsically Disordered Proteins Ontology (IDPO), improvements in the curation process and significant content growth of around 30%. Higher quality and consistency of annotations is provided by a newly implemented reviewing process and training of curators. The increased curation capacity is fostered by the integration of DisProt with APICURON, a dedicated resource for the proper attribution and recognition of biocuration efforts. Better interoperability is provided through the adoption of the Minimum Information About Disorder (MIADE) standard, an active collaboration with the Gene Ontology (GO) and Evidence and Conclusion Ontology (ECO) consortia and the support of the ELIXIR infrastructure.
Studies over the past decade have highlighted the functional significance of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). Due to conformational heterogeneity and inherent dynamics, structural studies of ...IDPs have relied mostly on NMR spectroscopy, despite IDPs having characteristics that make them challenging to study using traditional ¹H-detected biomolecular NMR techniques. Here, we develop a suite of 3D 15N-detected experiments that take advantage of the slower transverse relaxation property of 15N nuclei, the associated narrower linewidth, and the greater chemical shift dispersion compared with those of ¹H and 13C resonances. The six 3D experiments described here start with aliphatic ¹H magnetization to take advantage of its higher initial polarization, and are broadly applicable for backbone assignment of proteins that are disordered, dynamic, or have unfavorable amide proton exchange rates. Using these experiments, backbone resonance assignments were completed for the unstructured regulatory domain (residues 131–294) of the human transcription factor nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFATC2), which includes 28 proline residues located in functionally important serine–proline (SP) repeats. The complete assignment of the NFATC2 regulatory domain enabled us to study phosphorylation of NFAT by kinase PKA and phosphorylation-dependent binding of chaperone protein 14-3-3 to NFAT, providing mechanistic insight on how 14-3-3 regulates NFAT nuclear translocation.
Viruses mimic host short linear motifs (SLiMs) to hijack and deregulate cellular functions. Studies of motif-mediated interactions therefore provide insight into virus-host dependencies, and reveal ...targets for therapeutic intervention. Here, we describe the pan-viral discovery of 1712 SLiM-based virus-host interactions using a phage peptidome tiling the intrinsically disordered protein regions of 229 RNA viruses. We find mimicry of host SLiMs to be a ubiquitous viral strategy, reveal novel host proteins hijacked by viruses, and identify cellular pathways frequently deregulated by viral motif mimicry. Using structural and biophysical analyses, we show that viral mimicry-based interactions have similar binding strength and bound conformations as endogenous interactions. Finally, we establish polyadenylate-binding protein 1 as a potential target for broad-spectrum antiviral agent development. Our platform enables rapid discovery of mechanisms of viral interference and the identification of potential therapeutic targets which can aid in combating future epidemics and pandemics.
Attributes of short linear motifs Davey, Norman E; Van Roey, Kim; Weatheritt, Robert J ...
Molecular bioSystems
8, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Traditionally, protein-protein interactions were thought to be mediated by large, structured domains. However, it has become clear that the interactome comprises a wide range of binding interfaces ...with varying degrees of flexibility, ranging from rigid globular domains to disordered regions that natively lack structure. Enrichment for disorder in highly connected hub proteins and its correlation with organism complexity hint at the functional importance of disordered regions. Nevertheless, they have not yet been extensively characterised. Shifting the attention from globular domains to disordered regions of the proteome might bring us closer to elucidating the dense and complex connectivity of the interactome. An important class of disordered interfaces are the compact mono-partite, short linear motifs (SLiMs, or eukaryotic linear motifs (ELMs)). They are evolutionarily plastic and interact with relatively low affinity due to the limited number of residues that make direct contact with the binding partner. These features confer to SLiMs the ability to evolve convergently and mediate transient interactions, which is imperative to network evolution and to maintain robust cell signalling, respectively. The ability to discriminate biologically relevant SLiMs by means of different attributes will improve our understanding of the complexity of the interactome and aid development of bioinformatics tools for motif discovery. In this paper, the curated instances currently available in the Eukaryotic Linear Motif (ELM) database are analysed to provide a clear overview of the defining attributes of SLiMs. These analyses suggest that functional SLiMs have higher levels of conservation than their surrounding residues, frequently evolve convergently, preferentially occur in disordered regions and often form a secondary structure when bound to their interaction partner. These results advocate searching for small groupings of residues in disordered regions with higher relative conservation and a propensity to form the secondary structure. Finally, the most interesting conclusions are examined in regard to their functional consequences.
The pre-translational modification of messenger ribonucleic acids (mRNAs) by alternative promoter usage and alternative splicing is an important source of pleiotropy. Despite intensive efforts, our ...understanding of the functional implications of this dynamically created diversity is still incomplete. Using the available knowledge of interaction modules, particularly within intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs), we analysed the occurrences of protein modules within alternative exons. We find that regions removed or included by pre-translational variation are enriched in linear motifs suggesting that the removal or inclusion of exons containing these interaction modules is an important regulatory mechanism. In particular, we observe that PDZ-, PTB-, SH2- and WW-domain binding motifs are more likely to occur within alternative exons. We also determine that regions removed or included by alternative promoter usage are enriched in IDRs suggesting that protein isoform diversity is tightly coupled to the modulation of IDRs. This study, therefore, demonstrates that short linear motifs are key components for establishing protein diversity between splice variants.
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