Protein structure prediction in the deep learning era.

Journal: Current opinion in structural biology
Published Date:

Abstract

Significant advances have been achieved in protein structure prediction, especially with the recent development of the AlphaFold2 and the RoseTTAFold systems. This article reviews the progress in deep learning-based protein structure prediction methods in the past two years. First, we divide the representative methods into two categories: the two-step approach and the end-to-end approach. Then, we show that the two-step approach is possible to achieve similar accuracy to the state-of-the-art end-to-end approach AlphaFold2. Compared to the end-to-end approach, the two-step approach requires fewer computing resources. We conclude that it is valuable to keep developing both approaches. Finally, a few outstanding challenges in function-orientated protein structure prediction are pointed out for future development.

Authors

  • Zhenling Peng
    Center for Applied Mathematics, Tianjin University, Tianjin, China.
  • Wenkai Wang
    School of Mathematical Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300071, China.
  • Renmin Han
    King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering (CEMSE) Division, Thuwal, Saudi Arabia.
  • Fa Zhang
    High Performance Computer Research Center, Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
  • Jianyi Yang
    School of Mathematical Sciences, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.