RESEARCH ARTICLE A benchmark driven guide to binding site comparison: An exhaustive evaluation using tailor-made data sets (ProSPECCTs) 1 1,2 1 Christiane EhrtID , Tobias BrinkjostID , Oliver KochID * 1 Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany, 2 Department of Computer Science, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany *
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[email protected] a1111111111 a1111111111 a1111111111 Abstract a1111111111 a1111111111 The automated comparison of protein-ligand binding sites provides useful insights into yet unexplored site similarities. Various stages of computational and chemical biology research can benefit from this knowledge. The search for putative off-targets and the establishment of polypharmacological effects by comparing binding sites led to promising results for numerous projects. Although many cavity comparison methods are available, a comprehensive analysis OPEN ACCESS to guide the choice of a tool for a specific application is wanting. Moreover, the broad variety Citation: Ehrt C, Brinkjost T, Koch O (2018) A benchmark driven guide to binding site of binding site modeling approaches, comparison algorithms, and scoring metrics impedes comparison: An exhaustive evaluation using tailor- this choice. Herein, we aim to elucidate strengths and weaknesses of binding site comparison made data sets (ProSPECCTs). PLoS Comput Biol methodologies. A detailed benchmark study is the only possibility to rationalize the selection 14(11): e1006483. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. of appropriate tools for different scenarios. Specific evaluation data sets were developed to pcbi.1006483 shed light on multiple aspects of binding site comparison. An assembly of all applied bench- Editor: Bjoern Peters, La Jolla Institute for Allergy mark sets (ProSPECCTs±Protein Site Pairs for the Evaluation of Cavity Comparison Tools) and Immunology, UNITED STATES is made available for the evaluation and optimization of further and still emerging methods.