A NSGA-II Algorithm for the Residue-Residue Contact Prediction

Abstract

We present a multi-objective evolutionary approach to predict protein contact maps. The algorithm provides a set of rules, inferring whether there is contact between a pair of residues or not. Such rules are based on a set of specific amino acid properties. These properties determine the particular features of each amino acid represented in the rules. In order to test the validity of our proposal, we have compared results obtained by our method with results obtained by other classification methods. The algorithm shows better accuracy and coverage rates than other contact map predictor algorithms. A statistical analysis of the resulting rules was also performed in order to extract conclusions of the protein folding problem.