We describe a network sharable, interactive computational tool for rapid and sensitive search and analysis of biomolecular sequence databases such as GenBank, GenPept, Protein Identification Resource, and SWISS-PROT. The resource is accessible via the World Wide Web using popular client software such as Mosaic and Netscape. The client software is freely available on a number of computing platforms including Macintosh, IBM-PC, and Unix workstations.

Rapid growth of protein structures database in recent years requires an effective approach for objective comparison and classification of deposited protein structures. We describe a novel method for structure comparison and classification based on the alignment of one-dimensional structure profiles. These profiles are obtained by calculating the OCCO pseudodihedral angles (formed by O-C-C-O atoms of carbonyl groups of consecutive amino acid residues) from protein three-dimensional coordinates. These angle measurements are then converted into a 24 letter alphabet, and the protein structures are represented by sequences of letter from this alphabet. The BioSCAN parallel computer, designed for primary sequence alignment, is used to rapidly align and classify these one-dimensional structure profiles. We have developed and implemented weighted scoring matrix to identify structural classes based on commonly found structural motifs. The results of our experiments are in good agreement with the traditional protein structure classification schemes. One-dimensional structure profiles significantly improve efficiency of structure comparison and classification.