Scientists Unveil First Large-Scale View of the „Pocketome“ Using AI-Predicted Protein Structures

Proteins perform their many different functions via physical interactions with other molecules, in particular, small molecules present in cells, such as metabolites. These interactions occur on distinct binding pockets on protein surfaces. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiolgy now performed a systematic survey of all binding pockets – the “pocketome” – across eleven different species from different kingdoms of life to explore the diversity and scaling behavior of number of binding pockets with the number of proteins found in the respective species.