Question

Which of the following is untrue regarding Ab Initio–Based Methods?

(a) This type of method predicts the secondary structure based on a single query sequence

(b) This type of method predicts the secondary structure based on a multiple query sequence

(c) It measures the relative propensity of each amino acid belonging to a certain secondary structure element

(d) The propensity scores are derived from known crystal structures

This question was posed to me in an online quiz.

My query is from Protein Secondary Structure Prediction  for Globular Proteins in division Secondary Structure Prediction of Bioinformatics

Answer 1

Right option is (b) This type of method predicts the secondary structure based on a multiple query sequence

Best explanation: Examples of ab initio prediction are the Chou–Fasman and Garnier, Osguthorpe, Robson (GOR) methods. The ab initio methods were developed in the 1970s when protein structural data were very limited. The statistics derived from the limited data sets can therefore be rather inaccurate. However, the methods are simple enough that they are often used to illustrate the basics of secondary structure prediction.