Predicting coiled-coil regions in proteins

The past several years have seen significant advances in our ability to recognize coiled coils from protein sequences and model their structures. New methods include a detection program based on pairwise residue correlations, a program that distinguishes two-stranded from three-stranded coiled coils and a routine for modelling the coordinates of the core residues in coiled coils. Several widely noted predictions, among them those for heterotrimeric G proteins and for cartilage oligomeric matrix protein, have been confirmed by crystal structures, and several new predictions have been made, including a model for the still hypothetical right-handed coiled coil. (C) Current Biology Ltd.