An Analytical Approach to the Protein Designability Problem

TL;DR

This paper introduces an analytical method to estimate the designability of protein structures, focusing on 2D lattice models, and reveals how designability hierarchies depend on the potential used.

Contribution

It provides a systematic analytical approach for calculating the spectrum and designability of protein structures, advancing understanding beyond numerical methods.

Findings

Hierarchy of structures based on designability identified

Designability depends on the potential used

Analytical solutions for 2D lattice structures derived

Abstract

We present an analytical method for determining the designability of protein structures. We apply our method to the case of two-dimensional lattice structures, and give a systematic solution for the spectrum of any structure. Using this spectrum, the designability of a structure can be estimated. We outline a heirarchy of structures, from most to least designable, and show that this heirarchy depends on the potential that is used.