Classification schemes used in ConoServer

Three classification schemes are used in ConoServer to describe conopeptides:

the gene superfamily classification scheme,
which describes the similarities between the ER signal sequences of conopeptide precursors;
the cysteine framework classification scheme,
which describes the arrangement of cysteines along the mature peptide region in the precursor and is important for the peptide three-dimensional structures; and
the pharmacological family classification scheme,
which describes the pharmacological targets and the mode of interaction (agonist, antagonist, delayed inhibition)

The links above give a precise definition and an analysis of the three classification schemes used in ConoServer. Detailed and automatically updated lists of classes are also provided.

The definition of the three classification schemes has evolved over time and the definition used in ConoServer may differ from the one found in the literature. Those differences have been reviewed in Kaas et al. Toxicon 2010 [1].

It should be noted that relationships between the classification schemes are complex and no classification is completely dependent from another [1].

[1]Kaas,Q. et al. (2010) Toxicon 55:1491-1509