Structural role of exon-coded fragments in proteins

This article describes the role of protein fragments encoded by individual exons. Structural analysis of the hydrophobic core on the basis of the “fuzzy oil drop” model – in whole molecules as well as in fragments encoded by specific exons – indicates that, in each protein, at least one exon encodes a fragment, which is consistent with the theoretical distribution of hydrophobicity density. Quantitative assessment of the properties of such exons in selected proteins enables the model to be applied in identifying the structural (stabilizing) role of polypeptide chains encoded by individual exons. This is viewed as a preliminary step toward future exploitation of this technique in studying the alternative splicing phenomenon.