HYDROPATHY PLOT Meaning and
Definition
-
Hydropathy plot refers to a graphical representation or plot that depicts the hydrophobicity or hydrophilicity profile of a protein sequence or a segment of it. It provides valuable insights into the structure and function of proteins. The hydrophobicity of an amino acid is a measure of its likeliness to be in contact with water molecules. A hydropathy plot highlights regions of the protein that exhibit a strong preference for being submerged within the protein's core or exposed to the surrounding aqueous environment.
A typical hydropathy plot displays the protein sequence along the x-axis, while the y-axis represents the hydrophobicity scale. Positive values on the y-axis imply that the corresponding amino acid is hydrophobic, and negative values represent hydrophilic amino acids. The plot is often annotated with lines or shaded regions to indicate important structural features such as transmembrane domains or regions involved in protein-protein interactions.
Hydropathy plots are useful in predicting the membrane-spanning regions of integral membrane proteins, as hydrophobic stretches of amino acids often form alpha-helices that span the lipid bilayer. They also aid in understanding protein folding, as hydrophobic amino acids tend to be buried within the protein's three-dimensional structure.
Hydropathy plots have been widely employed in bioinformatics and comparative genomics as a valuable tool for studying protein structure and function. They are instrumental in the identification of potential membrane proteins and the prediction of their topology. Additionally, hydropathy plots can assist in studying protein-protein interactions and in the design of experiments to investigate protein structure and function.
Common Misspellings for HYDROPATHY PLOT
- gydropathy plot
- bydropathy plot
- nydropathy plot
- jydropathy plot
- uydropathy plot
- yydropathy plot
- htdropathy plot
- hgdropathy plot
- hhdropathy plot
- hudropathy plot
- h7dropathy plot
- h6dropathy plot
- hysropathy plot
- hyxropathy plot
- hycropathy plot
- hyfropathy plot
- hyrropathy plot
- hyeropathy plot
- hydeopathy plot
- hyddopathy plot
Etymology of HYDROPATHY PLOT
The term "hydropathy plot" does not have a specific etymology of its own as it is a combination of two words: "hydropathy" and "plot". Here is the etymology of each word:
- Hydropathy: The word "hydropathy" originated in the mid-19th century and comes from the Greek words "hudor" meaning "water" and "patheia" meaning "suffering". It refers to a therapeutic system that uses water in various forms, such as baths, wraps, or compresses, for the treatment of diseases.
- Plot: The word "plot" traces back to Middle English and has Old English and Old Norse origins. It derives from the Old English word "plott" or "plottian", meaning "to plan or map out". From there, it developed into the Old Norse word "plotha", meaning "a piece of land".
