EMBOSS: charge

| charge

## Function

Draw a protein charge plot

## Description

charge reads a protein sequence and writes a file (or plots a graph) of the mean charge of the amino acids within a window of specified length as the window is moved along the sequence.

## Algorithm

charge uses the column "charge" from a datafile (Eamino.dat) of amino acid properties. It gives the residues 'D' and 'E' a charge of -1, 'K' and 'R' a charge of +1, and the residue 'H' a charge of +0.5. Then it calculates the mean charge across the window, which by default is 5 residues.

## Usage

Here is a sample session with charge

    % charge tsw:hbb_human
    Draw a protein charge plot
    Output file [hbb_human.charge]:

Go to the input files for this example
Go to the output files for this example

## Command line arguments

       Standard (Mandatory) qualifiers (* if not always prompted):
      [-seqall]            seqall     Protein sequence(s) filename and optional
                                      format, or reference (input USA)
    *  -graph              xygraph    [$EMBOSS_GRAPHICS value, or x11] Graph type
                                      (ps, hpgl, hp7470, hp7580, meta, cps, x11,
                                      tekt, tek, none, data, xterm, png, gif)
    *  -outfile            outfile    [*.charge] Output file name

       Additional (Optional) qualifiers:
       -window             integer    [5] Window length (Integer 1 or more)

       Advanced (Unprompted) qualifiers:
       -aadata             datafile   [Eamino.dat] Amino acids properties and
                                      molecular weight data file
       -plot               toggle     [N] Produce graphic

       Associated qualifiers:

       "-seqall" associated qualifiers
       -sbegin1            integer    Start of each sequence to be used
       -send1              integer    End of each sequence to be used
       -sreverse1          boolean    Reverse (if DNA)
       -sask1              boolean    Ask for begin/end/reverse
       -snucleotide1       boolean    Sequence is nucleotide
       -sprotein1          boolean    Sequence is protein
       -slower1            boolean    Make lower case
       -supper1            boolean    Make upper case
       -sformat1           string     Input sequence format
       -sdbname1           string     Database name
       -sid1               string     Entryname
       -ufo1               string     UFO features
       -fformat1           string     Features format
       -fopenfile1         string     Features file name

       "-graph" associated qualifiers
       -gprompt            boolean    Graph prompting
       -gdesc              string     Graph description
       -gtitle             string     Graph title
       -gsubtitle          string     Graph subtitle
       -gxtitle            string     Graph x axis title
       -gytitle            string     Graph y axis title
       -goutfile           string     Output file for non interactive displays
       -gdirectory         string     Output directory

       "-outfile" associated qualifiers
       -odirectory         string     Output directory

       General qualifiers:
       -auto               boolean    Turn off prompts
       -stdout             boolean    Write first file to standard output
       -filter             boolean    Read first file from standard input, write
                                      first file to standard output
       -options            boolean    Prompt for standard and additional values
       -debug              boolean    Write debug output to program.dbg
       -verbose            boolean    Report some/full command line options
       -help               boolean    Report command line options. More
                                      information on associated and general
                                      qualifiers can be found with -help -verbose
       -warning            boolean    Report warnings
       -error              boolean    Report errors
       -fatal              boolean    Report fatal errors
       -die                boolean    Report dying program messages

Standard (Mandatory) qualifiers | Allowed values | Default
--- | --- | ---
[-seqall] (Parameter 1) | Protein sequence(s) filename and optional format, or reference (input USA) | Readable sequence(s) | Required
-graph | Graph type | EMBOSS has a list of known devices, including ps, hpgl, hp7470, hp7580, meta, cps, x11, tekt, tek, none, data, xterm, png, gif | EMBOSS_GRAPHICS value, or x11
-outfile | Output file name | Output file | <*>.charge
Additional (Optional) qualifiers | Allowed values | Default
-window | Window length | Integer 1 or more | 5
Advanced (Unprompted) qualifiers | Allowed values | Default
-aadata | Amino acids properties and molecular weight data file | Data file | Eamino.dat
-plot | Produce graphic | Toggle value Yes/No | No

## Input file format

charge reads in a protein sequence.

### Input files for usage example

'tsw:hbb_human' is a sequence entry in the example protein database 'tsw'

### Database entry: tsw:hbb_human

    ID   HBB_HUMAN               Reviewed;         147 AA.
    AC   P68871; P02023; Q13852; Q14481; Q14510; Q45KT0; Q6FI08; Q8IZI1;
    AC   Q9BX96; Q9UCP8; Q9UCP9;
    DT   21-JUL-1986, integrated into UniProtKB/Swiss-Prot.
    DT   23-JAN-2007, sequence version 2.
    DT   20-MAR-2007, entry version 43.
    DE   Hemoglobin subunit beta (Hemoglobin beta chain) (Beta-globin).
    GN   Name=HBB;
    OS   Homo sapiens (Human).
    OC   Eukaryota; Metazoa; Chordata; Craniata; Vertebrata; Euteleostomi;
    OC   Mammalia; Eutheria; Euarchontoglires; Primates; Haplorrhini;
    OC   Catarrhini; Hominidae; Homo.
    OX   NCBI_TaxID=9606;
    RN   [1]
    RP   NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE.
    RX   MEDLINE=81064667; PubMed=6254664; DOI=10.1016/0092-8674(80)90428-6;
    RA   Lawn R.M., Efstratiadis A., O'Connell C., Maniatis T.;
    RT   "The nucleotide sequence of the human beta-globin gene.";
    RL   Cell 21:647-651(1980).
    RN   [2]
    RP   NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE.
    RX   MEDLINE=77126403; PubMed=1019344;
    RA   Marotta C., Forget B., Cohen-Solal M., Weissman S.M.;
    RT   "Nucleotide sequence analysis of coding and noncoding regions of human
    RT   beta-globin mRNA.";
    RL   Prog. Nucleic Acid Res. Mol. Biol. 19:165-175(1976).
    RN   [3]
    RP   NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE.
    RA   Lu L., Hu Z.H., Du C.S., Fu Y.S.;
    RT   "DNA sequence of the human beta-globin gene isolated from a healthy
    RT   Chinese.";
    RL   Submitted (JUN-1997) to the EMBL/GenBank/DDBJ databases.
    RN   [4]
    RP   NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE, AND VARIANT DURHAM-N.C. PRO-115.
    RC   TISSUE=Blood;
    RA   Kutlar F., Abboud M., Leithner C., Holley L., Brisco J., Kutlar A.;
    RT   "Electrophoretically silent, very unstable, thalassemic mutation at
    RT   codon 114 of beta globin (hemoglobin Durham-N.C.) detected by cDNA
    RT   sequencing of mRNA, from a Russian women.";
    RL   Submitted (AUG-1999) to the EMBL/GenBank/DDBJ databases.
    RN   [5]
    RP   NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE, AND VARIANT LOUISVILLE LEU-43.
    RC   TISSUE=Blood;
    RA   Kutlar F., Harbin J., Brisco J., Kutlar A.;
    RT   "Rapid detection of electrophoretically silent, unstable human
    RT   hemoglobin 'Louisville', (Beta; Phe 42 Leu/TTT to CTT) by cDNA
    RT   sequencing of mRNA.";
    RL   Submitted (JAN-1999) to the EMBL/GenBank/DDBJ databases.
    RN   [6]
    RP   NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCE, AND VARIANT TY GARD GLN-125.

      [Part of this file has been deleted for brevity]

    FT   VARIANT     141    141       A -> T (in St Jacques: O(2) affinity up).
    FT                                /FTId=VAR_003081.
    FT   VARIANT     141    141       A -> V (in Puttelange; polycythemia; O(2)
    FT                                affinity up).
    FT                                /FTId=VAR_003082.
    FT   VARIANT     142    142       L -> R (in Olmsted; unstable).
    FT                                /FTId=VAR_003083.
    FT   VARIANT     143    143       A -> D (in Ohio; O(2) affinity up).
    FT                                /FTId=VAR_003084.
    FT   VARIANT     144    144       H -> D (in Rancho Mirage).
    FT                                /FTId=VAR_003085.
    FT   VARIANT     144    144       H -> P (in Syracuse; O(2) affinity up).
    FT                                /FTId=VAR_003087.
    FT   VARIANT     144    144       H -> Q (in Little Rock; O(2) affinity
    FT                                up).
    FT                                /FTId=VAR_003086.
    FT   VARIANT     144    144       H -> R (in Abruzzo; O(2) affinity up).
    FT                                /FTId=VAR_003088.
    FT   VARIANT     145    145       K -> E (in Mito; O(2) affinity up).
    FT                                /FTId=VAR_003089.
    FT   VARIANT     146    146       Y -> C (in Rainier; O(2) affinity up).
    FT                                /FTId=VAR_003090.
    FT   VARIANT     146    146       Y -> H (in Bethesda; O(2) affinity up).
    FT                                /FTId=VAR_003091.
    FT   VARIANT     147    147       H -> D (in Hiroshima; O(2) affinity up).
    FT                                /FTId=VAR_003092.
    FT   VARIANT     147    147       H -> L (in Cowtown; O(2) affinity up).
    FT                                /FTId=VAR_003093.
    FT   VARIANT     147    147       H -> P (in York; O(2) affinity up).
    FT                                /FTId=VAR_003094.
    FT   VARIANT     147    147       H -> Q (in Kodaira; O(2) affinity up).
    FT                                /FTId=VAR_003095.
    FT   HELIX         5     15
    FT   TURN         20     22
    FT   HELIX        23     34
    FT   HELIX        36     41
    FT   HELIX        43     45
    FT   HELIX        51     56
    FT   HELIX        58     76
    FT   TURN         77     79
    FT   HELIX        81     93
    FT   TURN         94     96
    FT   HELIX       101    118
    FT   HELIX       119    121
    FT   HELIX       124    141
    FT   HELIX       143    145
    SQ   SEQUENCE   147 AA;  15998 MW;  A31F6D621C6556A1 CRC64;
         MVHLTPEEKS AVTALWGKVN VDEVGGEALG RLLVVYPWTQ RFFESFGDLS TPDAVMGNPK
         VKAHGKKVLG AFSDGLAHLD NLKGTFATLS ELHCDKLHVD PENFRLLGNV LVCVLAHHFG
         KEFTPPVQAA YQKVVAGVAN ALAHKYH
    //

## Output file format

If the option '-plot' is specified then charge displays a graph of the charge along the sequence otherwise it writes out a file containing the charges within a window starting at each position along the sequence.

The output file contains two columns separated by space or TAB characters. The first column is the position of the start of the window. The second column is the charge of the amino acids within that window.

### Output files for usage example

### File: hbb_human.charge

    CHARGE of HBB_HUMAN from 1 to 147: window 5

    Position	Residue	Charge
    1		M	0.100
    2		V	0.100
    3		H	-0.100
    4		L	-0.400
    5		T	-0.200
    6		P	-0.200
    7		E	-0.200
    8		E	0.000
    9		K	0.200
    10		S	0.000
    11		A	0.000
    12		V	0.000
    13		T	0.000
    14		A	0.200
    15		L	0.200
    16		W	0.200
    17		G	0.200
    18		K	0.000
    19		V	-0.400
    20		N	-0.400
    21		V	-0.400
    22		D	-0.400
    23		E	-0.400
    24		V	-0.200
    25		G	-0.200
    26		G	-0.200
    27		E	0.000
    28		A	0.200
    29		L	0.200
    30		G	0.200
    31		R	0.200
    32		L	0.000
    33		L	0.000
    34		V	0.000
    35		V	0.000
    36		Y	0.000
    37		P	0.200
    38		W	0.200
    39		T	0.200
    40		Q	0.000
    41		R	0.000
    42		F	-0.200
    43		F	-0.200
    44		E	-0.400
    45		S	-0.200
    46		F	-0.200
    47		G	-0.200

      [Part of this file has been deleted for brevity]

    93		H	0.100
    94		C	0.100
    95		D	0.100
    96		K	0.100
    97		L	-0.100
    98		H	-0.300
    99		V	-0.400
    100		D	-0.400
    101		P	0.000
    102		E	0.000
    103		N	0.200
    104		F	0.200
    105		R	0.200
    106		L	0.000
    107		L	0.000
    108		G	0.000
    109		N	0.000
    110		V	0.000
    111		L	0.000
    112		V	0.000
    113		C	0.100
    114		V	0.200
    115		L	0.200
    116		A	0.200
    117		H	0.400
    118		H	0.100
    119		F	0.000
    120		G	0.000
    121		K	0.000
    122		E	-0.200
    123		F	0.000
    124		T	0.000
    125		P	0.000
    126		P	0.000
    127		V	0.000
    128		Q	0.000
    129		A	0.200
    130		A	0.200
    131		Y	0.200
    132		Q	0.200
    133		K	0.200
    134		V	0.000
    135		V	0.000
    136		A	0.000
    137		G	0.000
    138		V	0.000
    139		A	0.000
    140		N	0.100
    141		A	0.300
    142		L	0.300
    143		A	0.400

## Data files

charge reads the data file 'Eamino.dat' to find the charge of the amino acids in the protein.

EMBOSS data files are distributed with the application and stored in the standard EMBOSS data directory, which is defined by the EMBOSS environment variable EMBOSS_DATA.

To see the available EMBOSS data files, run:

    % embossdata -showall

To fetch one of the data files (for example 'Exxx.dat') into your current directory for you to inspect or modify, run:

    % embossdata -fetch -file Exxx.dat

Users can provide their own data files in their own directories. Project specific files can be put in the current directory, or for tidier directory listings in a subdirectory called ".embossdata". Files for all EMBOSS runs can be put in the user's home directory, or again in a subdirectory called ".embossdata".

The directories are searched in the following order:

- . (your current directory)
- .embossdata (under your current directory)
- ~/ (your home directory)
- ~/.embossdata

## Notes

None.

## References

None.

## Warnings

None.

## Diagnostic Error Messages

None.

## Exit status

It always exits with status 0.

## Known bugs

None.

## See also

Program name | Description
--- | ---
backtranambig | Back-translate a protein sequence to ambiguous nucleotide sequence
backtranseq | Back-translate a protein sequence to a nucleotide sequence
checktrans | Reports STOP codons and ORF statistics of a protein
compseq | Calculate the composition of unique words in sequences
emowse | Search protein sequences by digest fragment molecular weight
freak | Generate residue/base frequency table or plot
iep | Calculate the isoelectric point of proteins
mwcontam | Find weights common to multiple molecular weights files
mwfilter | Filter noisy data from molecular weights file
octanol | Draw a White-Wimley protein hydropathy plot
pepinfo | Plot amino acid properties of a protein sequence in parallel
pepstats | Calculates statistics of protein properties
pepwindow | Draw a Kyte-Doolittle hydropathy plot for a protein sequence
pepwindowall | Draw Kyte-Doolittle hydropathy plot for a protein alignment
wordcount | Count and extract unique words in DNA sequence(s)

## Author(s)

Alan Bleasby (ajb © ebi.ac.uk)
European Bioinformatics Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD, UK

## History

Written (March 2001) - Alan Bleasby.

## Target users

This program is intended to be used by everyone and everything, from naive users to embedded scripts.

## Comments

None