PRINTS

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PRINTS is a biology database that collects "fingerprints" for protein families. A fingerprint is a small group of conserved motifs taken from a sequence alignment, and together they form a unique signature for the family. The motifs don’t have to be next to each other in the sequence, but they can come together in 3D space to mark binding sites or interaction surfaces. Fingerprints help distinguish related proteins at different levels (clan, superfamily, family, subfamily) and support precise diagnosis of unknown sequences. They can differentiate members by the ligands they bind or the proteins they interact with, and they can hint at where proteins assemble or show allosteric regulation. PRINTS is a founding partner of InterPro, a widely used resource for protein families, domains, and functional sites.