Document Type

Thesis

Date of Award

7-28-2010

School/College

College of Science, Engineering, and Technology (COSET)

Degree Name

MS in Mathematics

First Advisor

Kiran B. Chilakamarri,

Abstract

The three dimensional structure of a protein plays an essential role in the function of that protein. The primary structure of a protein is the sequence of amino acid residues that make up the protein. Secondary structures are stable arrangements of amino acid residues. Alpha-helices, beta-bridges, beta-sheets, turns, bends are all well defined secondary structures. But there are segments of protein that do not fall into any of the above recognized secondary structures. These are called random coils. This term does not mean there is no structure or at least we cannot claim there is no inherent structure. All we can say is that there are no studies about random coils. Notably this work will be a pioneer in exploring the random coil. We will focus on studying the statistical distributions of various properties of random coils among proteins. The secondary structure data from 35,375 proteins extracted 1 2 from these proteins are gathered. Hopefully, learning about random coils and related statistical distributions in protein will serve as a ground for future research in protein secondary structure prediction and protein folding.

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