Protein subfamily is a level of

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

classification, based on their close evolutionary relationship. It is below the larger levels of

protein superfamily A protein superfamily is the largest grouping (clade) of proteins for which common ancestry can be inferred (see homology (biology), homology). Usually this common ancestry is inferred from structural alignment and mechanistic similarity, even if n ...

and

protein family A protein family is a group of evolutionarily related proteins. In many cases, a protein family has a corresponding gene family, in which each gene encodes a corresponding protein with a 1:1 relationship. The term "protein family" should not be ...

. Proteins typically share greater sequence and function similarities with other subfamily members than they do with members of their wider family. For example, in the Structural Classification of Proteins database classification system, members of a subfamily share the same interaction interfaces and interaction partners. These are stricter criteria than for a family, where members have similar structures, but may be more distantly related and so have different interfaces. Subfamilies are assigned by a variety of methods, including sequence similarity, motifs linked to function, or

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

clade. There is no exact and consistent distinction between a subfamily and a family. The same group of proteins may sometimes be described as a family or a subfamily, depending on the context.

References

External links

SCOP DB at Cambridge UK

CATH protein structure DB
Protein classification {{protein-stub