Question

While analysing motif sequences, what is the major disadvantageous feature of PROSITE?

(a) The database constructs profiles to complement some of the sequence patterns

(b) The functional information of these patterns is primarily based on published literature

(c) Some of the sequence patterns are too short to be specific

(d) Lack of specificity about probability and variation and relation between them

I had been asked this question in quiz.

The origin of the question is Motif and Domain Databases Using Regular Expressions topic in section Sequence Alignment of Bioinformatics

Answer 1

The correct answer is (c) Some of the sequence patterns are too short to be specific

The best explanation: The major pitfall with the PROSITE patterns is that some of the sequence patterns are too short to be specific. Rest of the options are advantages. The problem with these short sequence patterns is that the resulting match is very likely to be a result of random events. Overall, PROSITE has a greater than 20% error rate. Thus, either a match or non-match in PROSITE should be treated with caution.