This project, funded by the BBSRC, will use Grid technologies to build a fully automated distributed pipeline for structure-based proteome annotation using GRID technoloy. It is being led by Professors Michael Sternberg (IC), David Jones (UCL) and Janet Thornton (EBI). Further investigators based at Imperial College London are Professor John Darlington and Dr Steven Newhouse.

The project brings together three key institutes, and will develop the prototype for a national/distributed proteome annotation GRID. The annotation will primarily employ sophisticated homology and fold recognition methods to assign protein structures to the proteomes and generate 3D models.

The specific aims of the project are:

• To establish local databases with structural and functional annotations.
• To disseminate to the biological community the proteome annotation via a single web-based distributed system (DAS) based at the EBI.
• To share computing power transparently between sites using the GRID under GLOBUS.
• To use the developed system for comparison of alternative approaches for annotation and thereby identify methodological improvements.
• To establish a pre-prototype at 6 months for demonstration purposes and deliver a working system after two years.

DTI has provided additional funds from its Harnessing Genomics programme to facilitate industrial contacts throughout the programme and to extend the grant by 3 months to produce a technical report on the product that would intergrate and expand on academic publications. In particular, the funding would support two meetings, the first a consultancy exercise with UK industry and the second a three day industrial workshop to showcase the product at the end of the grant.