The novel method allowing identification of protein structure elements responsible for catalytic activity manifestation is proposed. Structural organization of various hydrolases was studied using the ANIS (ANalysis of Informational Structure) method. ANIS allows to reveal a hierarchy of the ELements of Information Structure (ELIS) using protein amino acid sequence. The ELIS corresponds to the variable length sites with an increased density of structural information. The amino acid residues forming the enzyme catalytic site were shown to belong to the different top-ranking ELIS located in the contact area of the corresponding spatial structure clusters. In the protein spatial structure catalytic sites are located in the area of contact between fragments of polypeptide chain (structural blocs) allocation to the different top-ranking ELIS. According to our results we concluded that structural blocks corresponding to top-ranking ELIS are crucial for protein functioning. Such regions are structurally independent, and their determinate mobility relative to each other is vital for an efficient enzymatic reaction to occur.
Journal of Biomolecular Structure & Dynamics, ISSN 0739-1102 Volume 25, Issue Number 5, (2008) pp. 553-561