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Your First Hands-On Lesson On Using AlphaFold
A practical lesson on folding proteins using AlphaFold (and more!)
Google’s AlphaFold 3 is an incredible AI model that can predict the structure and interactions of all life’s molecules (proteins, DNA, RNA, ligands and more).
This model is so marvellous that its creators, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2024.
While most tutorials focus on the inner workings of the model, we will take a different approach and focus on learning how to use it and interpret the results.
Let’s begin with your first lesson on using AlphaFold!
Time For Some Biology First
Proteins are large biomolecules that perform a wide range of functions in all organisms, making life possible.
They are formed of different amino acids, as shown in the image below.
These amino acids connect together, forming long chains (just like beads in a string). This is the Primary structure of a protein.
This structure folds further in helical and sheet-like appearances called α-helix and the β-sheets, respectively. This is the Secondary structure of a protein.
This further folds up into a compact globular structure called the Tertiary structure of a protein.
Lastly, many Tertiary subunits can come together to form the Quarterny structure of a protein.
It is this Tertiary/ Quaternary structure of a protein that gives rise to its function.
Moving forward!
In 1972, Christian Anfinsen won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for proposing that a protein’s structure is determined by the sequence of amino acids that make it up.
This is called the Anfinsen’s dogma.
