|
|
Line 51: |
Line 51: |
| #Formulate testable hypotheses aimed at connecting sequence and predicted structural analyses to function (heme binding in this case). | | #Formulate testable hypotheses aimed at connecting sequence and predicted structural analyses to function (heme binding in this case). |
| | | |
− | A broader context for appreciating the importance of the analyses you are undertaking relates to the fact that the initial SELEX library is extremely diverse (≥ 10<sup>13</sup> unique sequences), with many of the sequences recovered at the end of your selection process being present initially only in single copy! So, what is so special about the set of sequences surviving the selection process? Do they share specific sequence motif(s) favoring high affinity binding to the target? Or, do they share structural features (dependent on or independent of) primary sequence composition that favor their interactions with the target? Alternatively, you could imagine that in the vast nucleotide sequence space you are exploring, there are many independent ways for a given sequence to interact with a target. In this case, you could recover sets of aptamers bearing no sequence or structural similarity to each other, but are all still capable of interacting with the target. The analyses you are about to perform can provide some insight into these fundamental questions, but as you will discover there are some important limitations. | + | A broader context for appreciating the importance of the analyses you are undertaking relates to the fact that the initial SELEX library is extremely diverse ( |