Understanding Pfam: The Gateway to Protein Family Analysis
Pfam stands as a fundamental resource in protein research, offering researchers detailed insights into protein families, domains, and evolutionary relationships through sophisticated computational approaches.
Core Components
- Database Content Primary Features:
- Protein families
- Domain definitions
- Multiple alignments
- Hidden Markov Models
- Functional annotations
- Evolutionary relationships
- Classification System Organization:
- Pfam-A (curated)
- Clans (related families)
- Domain architectures
- Family relationships
- Sequential features
- Structural mappings
Key Features
- Search Capabilities Search Options:
- Sequence search
- Domain architecture
- Family browsing
- Keyword search
- Text mining
- Structure mapping
- Analysis Tools Built-in Tools:
- HMM scanning
- Multiple alignment
- Tree generation
- Domain visualization
- Architecture analysis
- Sequence annotation
Research Applications
- Protein Analysis Primary Uses:
- Domain identification
- Function prediction
- Evolutionary studies
- Structure prediction
- Annotation transfer
- Family classification
- Comparative Genomics Applications:
- Domain architecture
- Family distribution
- Evolutionary patterns
- Functional annotation
- Cross-species comparison