Proteins are the common constituents of all living cells. They are molecular machines that interact with each other as well as with other cell products and carry out a dizzying array of functions with distinction. These interactions follow from their native state structures and therefore understanding sequence-structure relationships is of fundamental importance. What is quite remarkable about proteins is that their understanding necessarily straddles several disciplines. The importance of geometry in defining protein native state structure, the constraints placed on protein behavior by mathematics and physics, the need for proteins to obey the laws of quantum chemistry, and the rich role of evolution and biology all come together in defining protein science. Here we review ideas from the literature and present an interdisciplinary framework that aims to marry ideas from Plato and Darwin and demonstrates an astonishing consilience between disciplines in describing proteins. We discuss the consequences of this framework on protein behavior.

中文翻译：

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蛋白质——对一致性的庆祝

蛋白质是所有活细胞的共同成分。它们是分子机器，它们相互之间以及与其他细胞产物相互作用，并以不同的方式执行一系列令人眼花缭乱的功能。这些相互作用源于它们的原生状态结构，因此理解序列-结构关系至关重要。蛋白质的非凡之处在于，它们的理解必然跨越多个学科。几何学在定义蛋白质天然状态结构中的重要性、数学和物理学对蛋白质行为的限制、蛋白质遵守量子化学定律的需要以及进化和生物学的丰富作用都在定义蛋白质科学中结合在一起。在这里，我们回顾了文献中的观点，并提出了一个跨学科框架，旨在结合柏拉图和达尔文的观点，并展示学科之间在描述蛋白质方面的惊人一致性。我们讨论了这个框架对蛋白质行为的影响。