Meet the editors

Dr. Rafael Trindade Maia studied biological sciences at the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Brazil (2005), received a Master's degree in genetics, conservation, and evolutionary biology from the National Institute of Amazonian Research, Brazil (2008), and a Ph.D. in animal biology from the Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil (2013). He is currently an adjunct professor at the Center for the Sustainable Development

of the Semi-Arid (CDSA) at Federal University of Campina Grande (UFCG), Brazil. He has experience with population genetics, bioinformatics, molecular docking, homology modeling, and molecular dynamics of proteins. He works in the area of science and biology education. He leads the research groups Computational and Theoretical Biology (CTB) and Education in Sciences and Biology (ESB).

Dr. Rômulo Maciel de Moraes Filho holds a BA in biological sciences from the Federal University of Pernambuco, a Master's in agronomy with a focus on plant breeding from the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco and a Ph.D. in genetics from the Ribeirão Preto Medical School-USP. He has experience in population genetics, conservation genetics, conservation of genetic resources, bioinformatics and cultivation of plant tissues. He is

currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, conducting research aimed at molecular characterization and selection of genotypes of the genus Psidium spp. resistant to nematodes.

Magnólia de Araújo Campos is a biologist, has a Master's degree in agronomy/plant breeding from the Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil, and a Ph.D. degree in biological sciences/molecular biology from the University of Brasília (2002). She has five years of experience in genomic sciences as a postdoctoral researcher at the Federal University of Lavras/Agronomic Institute (IAC), Brazil. She has been a professor at the Federal University

of Campina Grande (UFCG), Brazil since 2008. She mainly works on the following topics: genomics, bioinformatics, tissue culture and plant cells, genetic transformation of plants, gene expression during plant-microbe interactions, and expression of heterologous proteins in bacteria.

Contents

**Section 1**

**Section 2**

**Section 3**

of GPCRs

Interactions

Introductory Chapter: Homology Modeling

*and Rômulo Maciel de Moraes Filho*

*by Rafael Trindade Maia, Magnólia de Araújo Campos* 

*by Jacob A. Bauer and Vladena Bauerová-Hlinková*

Role of Force Fields in Protein Function Prediction

*Gugan Kothandan and Diwakar Kumar*

*by Vishwambhar Vishnu Bhandare*

Normal Mode Analysis: A Tool for Better Understanding Protein Flexibility and Dynamics with Application to Homology Models

*by Zaved Hazarika, Sanchaita Rajkhowa and Anupam Nath Jha*

Importance of Homology Modeling for Predicting the Structures

Homology Modeling of Tubulin Isotypes to Investigate MT-Tau

*by Ananthasri Sailapathi, Seshan Gunalan, Kanagasabai Somarathinam,* 

**Preface XI**

Introduction **1**

**Chapter 1 3**

Reviews **11**

**Chapter 2 13**

**Chapter 3 31**

Research Chapters **53**

**Chapter 4 55**

**Chapter 5 69**
