Information derived from protein sequences

The amino acid sequence can give the information over and above the primary structure of the protein those are as follows.

- The sequence of interest can be compared with other well known sequences to see whether there are similarities. For instance, the sequences of myoglobin and hemoglobin show that they belong to the globin group or family of proteins.

- The comparison of the sequences of the similar protein in various species can give information about evolutionary relationships.

- The  presence  of  repeating  stretches  of  sequence  would  show  in which  the protein may have arisen through gene duplication  for instance in antibody molecules.

- Within the amino acid sequence there may be specific sequences that act as signals for the post-translational processing of the protein for example, glycosylation or proteolytic processing.

- The amino acid sequence data can be used to prepare antibodies exactly for the protein of interest that can be used to study its function and structure.

- The amino acid sequence can be used for designing DNA probes which are specific for the gene encoding the protein.