MultiCoil: A program for predicting two- and three-stranded coiled coils

A new multidimensional scoring approach for identifying and distinguishing trimeric and dimenic coiled coils is implemented in the MultiCoil program. The program extends the two-stranded coiled-coil prediction program PairCoil to the identification of three-stranded coiled coils. The computations are based upon data gathered from a three-stranded coiled-coil database comprising 6,319 amino acid residues, as well as from the previously constructed two-stranded coiled-coil database. In addition to identifying coiled coils not predicted by the two-stranded database programs, MultiCoil accurately classifies the oligomerization states of known dimeric and trimeric coiled coils. Analysis of the MultiCoil scores provides insight into structural features of coiled coils, and yields estimates that 0.9% of all protein residues form three-stranded coiled coils and that 1.5% form two-stranded coiled coils. The MultiCoil program is available at http://theory.lcs.mit.edu/multicoil.