An object-oriented database for protein structure analysis

An object-oriented database system has been developed whichis being used to store protein structure data. The databasecan be queried using the logic programming language Prolog orthe query language Daplex. Queries retrieve information by navigatingthrough a network of objects which represent the primary, secondaryand tertiary structures of proteins. Routines written in bothProlog and Daplex can integrate complex calculations with theretrieval of data from the database, and can also be storedin the database for sharing among users. Thus object-orienteddatabases are better suited to prototyping applications andanswering complex queries about protein structure than relationaldatabases. This system has been used to find loops of varyinglength and anchor positions when modelling homologous proteinstructures.