Ortholog-based protein-protein interaction prediction and its application to inter-species interactions
2008

Predicting Protein Interactions Across Species

publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Lee Sheng-An, Chan Cheng-hsiung, Tsai Chi-Hung, Lai Jin-Mei, Wang Feng-Sheng, Kao Cheng-Yan, Huang Chi-Ying

Primary Institution: National Yang-Ming University

Hypothesis

Can ortholog-based methods improve the prediction of protein-protein interactions (PPIs) across different species?

Conclusion

The study demonstrates that ortholog-based methods can effectively predict inter-species protein interactions, particularly between humans and the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum.

Supporting Evidence

  • The study predicts over 32,000 human interactions using orthologous pairs.
  • It identifies specific interactions between P. falciparum calmodulin and human proteins.
  • The research highlights the importance of calcium levels in host-parasite interactions.

Takeaway

Scientists can use information about similar proteins in different species to guess how they interact, which can help in understanding diseases like malaria.

Methodology

The study expanded orthologous pairs from 18 eukaryotic species and used experimental PPI datasets to predict interologs.

Potential Biases

Potential biases may arise from the reliance on high-throughput data, which can include false positives.

Limitations

The accuracy of predicted interactions may be affected by the limitations of high-throughput methods and the biological relevance of inferred interactions.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/1471-2105-9-S12-S11

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