Quickstart for beginners

2020-09-15

Amo (AmoAi V2.7.5) is a computational platform for analyses of bioligical data and applications in bioengineering. This tutorial provides its principles, architecture, and usage for users.

This tutorials of web-servers (under AmoAi) are presented, and those web-servers include: (1) protein sequence analysis & design, (2) protein folding, (3) protein design, (4) structural informatics, and (5) data analysis & visualization.

1. Protein sequence analysis & design
1.1 Overview
...

Figure 1. Overview

  1. Choose which computational tool to use
  2. Enter a job name (optional)
  3. Enter your name (optional)
  4. Enter your email address (required), a notice email will be sent to this address when job is completed
  5. Select the type of a given file. If the option of multiple aligned sequence is chosen, all analyses are based on the user-defined sequences. Otherwise, a multiple sequence alignment is achived by searching a single sequence provided by user against the database if the option of single sequence is selected
  6. Paste the sequence profile (in FASTA format)
  7. Upload the sequence profile (in FASTA format)
  8. Upload the associated PDB (optional). The inferred residue communities are mapped to the tertiary structure if the PDB is provided
  9. Offset (optional), set it if the starting index of the first amino acid is not 0
  10. Numer of mutants (optional). It is used to set the number of mutations that can be mutated together
  11. Database (optional), it is searched the given sequence against by HHblits tool
  12. Database (optional), it is searched the given sequence against by HMMER tool
1.2 Protein sequence statistics
0.20.40.60.8105M10M15M
IdentityNumber of sequences

Figure 2. Distribution of similarities between pairwise sequences.

V4C5S6E7Q8A9E10T11G12P13C14R15A16M17I18S19R20W21Y22F23D24V25T26E27G28K29C30A31P32F33F34Y35G36G37C38G39G40N41R42N43N44F45D46T47E48E49Y50C51M52A53V54C55G560123
Amino acidD​i

Figure 3. Degree of conservation at each single site (not included gaps).

In the calculations, the distribution of similarities between pairwise sequences is computed from a generated multiple sequence alignment (MSA) of a given protein (Figure 2). The degree of conservation at each position (not include the gaps) in the MSA is measured by relative entropy (Figure 3), and it is to indicate how much an amino acid at a specific position could be conserved. The degree of conservation can also how an amino acid at an evolutionarily conserved position is relavent to functionally important sites of protein, moreover, mutations in these positions could be harmful to protein function.

1.3 Evolutionary coupling signatures inferred from sequences
A16M17I18R15E27C14S19K29C38P13F34P32G36G28N41G40N44N43G12Y35F33E10R42G37A16M17I18R15E27C14S19K29C38P13F34P32G36G28N41G40N44N43G12Y35F33E10R42G37
WeakStrongAmino acidAmino acid

Figure 4. Residue communities of amino acids with both positive and negative interactions.

A16M17I18R15E27C14S19K29C38P13F34P32G36G28N41G40N44N43G12Y35F33E10R42G370.001: coupling strength between C14 and F340.001: coupling strength between C38 and F340.002: coupling strength between P32 and G280.006: coupling strength between F34 and G280.007: coupling strength between E27 and C380.007: coupling strength between S19 and C380.007: coupling strength between G36 and G280.008: coupling strength between E27 and C140.008: coupling strength between C14 and S190.008: coupling strength between S19 and G280.009: coupling strength between E27 and G280.012: coupling strength between K29 and G280.014: coupling strength between P13 and P320.014: coupling strength between R42 and G370.016: coupling strength between C38 and G360.017: coupling strength between C14 and G360.018: coupling strength between M17 and G280.018: coupling strength between I18 and G280.022: coupling strength between P13 and G360.022: coupling strength between P13 and G280.024: coupling strength between K29 and C380.024: coupling strength between P13 and F340.026: coupling strength between A16 and G280.027: coupling strength between C14 and K290.027: coupling strength between P32 and G360.028: coupling strength between R15 and P320.029: coupling strength between S19 and P130.029: coupling strength between F33 and R420.031: coupling strength between R15 and G280.031: coupling strength between C38 and G280.032: coupling strength between M17 and C380.033: coupling strength between E27 and P130.033: coupling strength between K29 and G360.033: coupling strength between E10 and R420.034: coupling strength between F34 and G360.035: coupling strength between R15 and G360.035: coupling strength between C14 and G280.036: coupling strength between M17 and C140.036: coupling strength between K29 and P130.036: coupling strength between Y35 and R420.037: coupling strength between I18 and C380.037: coupling strength between S19 and G360.037: coupling strength between E10 and G370.041: coupling strength between I18 and C140.043: coupling strength between R15 and F340.043: coupling strength between E27 and G360.046: coupling strength between K29 and P320.047: coupling strength between I18 and G360.048: coupling strength between N43 and R420.048: coupling strength between G12 and R420.05: coupling strength between R15 and S190.051: coupling strength between M17 and G360.052: coupling strength between N44 and R420.053: coupling strength between M17 and P130.053: coupling strength between I18 and P130.054: coupling strength between G12 and G370.055: coupling strength between A16 and G360.057: coupling strength between R15 and K290.057: coupling strength between F34 and P320.058: coupling strength between R15 and E270.058: coupling strength between G40 and R420.059: coupling strength between A16 and C380.059: coupling strength between S19 and P320.059: coupling strength between K29 and F340.061: coupling strength between F33 and G370.063: coupling strength between S19 and K290.063: coupling strength between Y35 and G370.064: coupling strength between I18 and P320.065: coupling strength between C38 and P130.066: coupling strength between A16 and C140.066: coupling strength between N41 and R420.068: coupling strength between G12 and E100.068: coupling strength between F33 and E100.069: coupling strength between E27 and P320.07: coupling strength between A16 and P130.07: coupling strength between A16 and P320.072: coupling strength between R15 and P130.072: coupling strength between C14 and P130.072: coupling strength between Y35 and E100.073: coupling strength between E27 and K290.073: coupling strength between S19 and F340.074: coupling strength between M17 and P320.079: coupling strength between I18 and K290.08: coupling strength between N43 and G370.082: coupling strength between I18 and F340.083: coupling strength between I18 and R150.084: coupling strength between E27 and F340.085: coupling strength between M17 and R150.086: coupling strength between M17 and K290.086: coupling strength between R15 and C380.089: coupling strength between I18 and S190.089: coupling strength between E27 and S190.092: coupling strength between A16 and K290.092: coupling strength between A16 and F340.092: coupling strength between N43 and E100.093: coupling strength between M17 and F340.096: coupling strength between R15 and C140.096: coupling strength between N41 and G370.098: coupling strength between N44 and G370.099: coupling strength between G40 and G370.099: coupling strength between G12 and F330.1: coupling strength between A16 and S190.1: coupling strength between M17 and S190.102: coupling strength between I18 and E270.104: coupling strength between G12 and Y350.108: coupling strength between A16 and R150.108: coupling strength between C14 and C380.11: coupling strength between N44 and E100.113: coupling strength between Y35 and F330.114: coupling strength between N41 and E100.114: coupling strength between G40 and E100.115: coupling strength between A16 and E270.115: coupling strength between M17 and E270.122: coupling strength between M17 and I180.13: coupling strength between A16 and I180.133: coupling strength between N43 and G120.141: coupling strength between A16 and M170.144: coupling strength between N43 and F330.148: coupling strength between N43 and Y350.16: coupling strength between N44 and G120.165: coupling strength between N41 and G120.165: coupling strength between G40 and G120.175: coupling strength between N41 and F330.177: coupling strength between N44 and F330.179: coupling strength between G40 and F330.181: coupling strength between N41 and Y350.181: coupling strength between N44 and Y350.184: coupling strength between G40 and Y350.23: coupling strength between N44 and N430.231: coupling strength between N41 and N430.234: coupling strength between G40 and N430.28: coupling strength between N41 and N440.286: coupling strength between N41 and G400.286: coupling strength between G40 and N44

Figure 5. Residue communities of amino acids.

The coupled interactions between pairwise amino acids of the protein are analyzed by spectrum analysis and ranked by the eigenvalues. The reduced matrix of interactions are achived (Figure 4). In order to look into the networks of residues that play important roles in protein function, the residue communities are defined based on the eigenvalues and preserve the positive interactions among amino acids (Figure 5).

1.4 Protein single mutation
V4C5S6E7Q8A9E10T11G12P13C14R15A16M17I18S19R20W21Y22F23D24V25T26E27G28K29C30A31P32F33F34Y35G36G37C38G39G40N41R42N43N44F45D46T47E48E49Y50C51M52A53V54C55G56ARNDCQEGHILKMFPSTWYV
FavorableUnfavorable

Figure 6. Complete single mutagenesis.

Complete single mutagenesis. The matrix that is computed by the SAEC method shows ΔE — the energy difference of each mutant sequence with each mutation τ at the ith site and wild-type sequence, negative values representing favourable while positive representing unfavourable mutations.

1.5 Protein coupled mutations
12345678910111213141516−2024
Energy (site)Energy (coupled)Energy (total)Index (coupled mutants)ΔEnergy (E​m-E​WT)

Figure 7. Energy differences between the WT and mutant sequence (best-so-far) for the rational protein design in silico.

Based on the best-so-far sequence (designed), one can conduct a signle or multiple (coupled) mutants on the WT sequence, and the energy of the mutant sequence is computed for evaluating the mutant(s). As an example (Figure 7), each two amino acids are combined to be mutated together and the energy differences are to measure quanlity of the coupled mutants.

1.6 Protein sequence design
246810121416−150−100−500
Energy (site)Energy (coupled)Energy (total)Mutant sequenceEnergy

Figure 8. Sequence energy trajectory of rational protein design in silico.

The energy trajectories of designing the sequence from the WT sequence as shown in the Figure 8, and the WT and mutant sequences are listed below.


WT sequence (energy: -147.990):
123456789|123456789|123456789|123456789|123456789|123
VCSEQAETGPCRAMISRWYFDVTEGKCAPFFYGGCGGNRNNFDTEEYCMAVCG

Mutant sequence (best-so-far, energy: -167.354):
123456789|123456789|123456789|123456789|123456789|123
VCSEPAETGPCRAMISRWYYDPKTGKCEPFLYSGCGGNGNNFETKEECEETCK

©2025 AmoAi. All rights reserved.