MUTADOCK

Introduction

MUTADOCK is a comprehensive library for protein mutation studies and multi-receptor/multi-ligand docking. It integrates automated protein mutation via PyRosetta with an AutoDock Vina docking pipeline, enabling systematic exploration of how mutations affect receptor–ligand binding affinity.

Key Features

Automated Protein Mutation

• Single-, double-, and triple-point mutation prediction using PyRosetta
• ΔΔG scoring to rank mutations by stability change
• Flexible substitution matrix support: built-in PAM250 and BLOSUM62, any matrix from the NCBI BLAST FTP (downloaded automatically), or a custom file

Docking Pipeline

• Batch docking of N receptors × M ligands with AutoDock Vina
• Automatic receptor preparation via PDBFixer + meeko (mk_receptor)
• Ligand preparation via meeko + RDKit
• Accepts both .pdb and .cif receptor files

Usability

• Simple CLI for each workflow step
• Python API for scripting and integration into existing pipelines

System Requirements

Requirement	Minimum
Python	3.11 or 3.12
RAM	8 GB (16 GB recommended for PyRosetta)
Disk	~6 GB (PyRosetta installation)
OS	Linux, macOS, Windows

AutoDock Vina must be installed separately — see Vina installation.

Installation

pip install mutadock

Install PyRosetta (required for ΔΔG calculations):

md_install_dependencies

Install receptor preparation dependencies (conda recommended for pdbfixer/openmm):

conda install -c conda-forge pdbfixer openmm

Quick Start

The data/ directory in this repository contains a sample receptor (4QJR.cif) and ligand (Ligand.sdf) you can use to try the workflow immediately.

1. Generate mutation candidates

md_csv_generator -i data/4QJR.cif -o mutations.csv -O mutations_all.csv

Use a different substitution matrix (downloaded automatically if not present locally):

md_csv_generator -i data/4QJR.cif --matrix BLOSUM62

Use a custom matrix file:

md_csv_generator -i data/4QJR.cif --matrix-file /path/to/my_matrix.txt

2. Run the full mutation pipeline

md_mutate -i data/4QJR.cif

This generates all output files described in the Mutation Output table and produces 4QJR_modified_mutants.txt listing every mutated PDB for use with md_dock.

3. Dock receptors against a ligand

Create a ligand list:

echo "data/Ligand.sdf" > ligands.txt

Then dock against all mutants (or any receptor list):

md_dock -r 4QJR_modified_mutants.txt -l ligands.txt -c config.txt

How-To Guide

Mutation Studies

md_mutate takes a PDB or CIF file and runs the complete mutation and ΔΔG pipeline.

md_mutate -i protein.pdb
md_mutate -h   # all options

Mutation Output

#	File	Description
1	protein_modified_mutations_all.csv	All possible single-residue substitutions
2	protein_modified_mutations.csv	Substitutions with positive matrix score
3	protein_modified_mutations_ddG.csv	ΔΔG for each mutation in file 2
4	protein_modified_mutations_ddG_sorted.csv	File 3 sorted lowest→highest ΔΔG
5	protein_modified_double_ddg.csv	Double-mutation ΔΔG combinations
6	protein_modified_double_ddg_sorted.csv	File 5 sorted
7	protein_modified_triple_ddg.csv	Triple-mutation ΔΔG combinations
8	protein_modified_triple_ddg_sorted.csv	File 7 sorted
9	protein_modified_mutants.txt	List of mutated PDB paths (direct input for md_dock)

Docking Studies

md_dock -r receptors.txt -l ligands.txt -c config.txt
md_dock -h   # all options

Every receptor in receptors.txt is docked against every ligand in ligands.txt. Receptors can be .pdb or .cif — they are fixed and converted to PDBQT automatically.

Docking Output

#	Output	Description
1	PDBQT files	Prepared receptor and ligand files
2	Log file	Vina output with binding scores per combination
3	Output PDB	Top 5 docking poses per combination
4	Output PDBQT	Best pose (Vina split) per combination
5	Output SDF	Best pose as SDF for visualization
6	docking_results.csv	All affinities tabulated for easy analysis

CLI Reference

Command	Description
md_mutate	Full mutation + ΔΔG pipeline from a PDB/CIF file
md_dock	Batch receptor–ligand docking
md_vina_dock	Direct AutoDock Vina CLI wrapper
md_csv_generator	Generate all possible substitutions with matrix scoring
md_csv_sort	Sort any CSV by column name or number
md_ddg_single	Calculate single-mutation ΔΔG from a mutations CSV
md_ddg_double	Calculate double-mutation ΔΔG combinations
md_ddg_triple	Calculate triple-mutation ΔΔG combinations

Python API

# --- Mutation ---
from mutation.csv_generator import generate_csv
from mutation.helpers import resolve_matrix, load_matrix

# Generate mutation CSV with default matrix (PAM250)
generate_csv("data/4QJR.cif")

# Use BLOSUM62 (downloaded automatically if absent)
generate_csv("data/4QJR.cif", matrix="BLOSUM62")

# Load a matrix directly
score_dict = load_matrix("data/PAM250")   # dict[str, dict[str, int]], 3-letter keys
score_dict = resolve_matrix("PAM30")      # downloads PAM30 from NCBI if needed

# --- Docking ---
from docking.vina_helper import prepare_receptor, prepare_ligand, dock_vina

prepare_receptor("data/4QJR.cif", "receptor.pdbqt")        # PDB or CIF
prepare_ligand("data/Ligand.sdf", "ligand.pdbqt")

dock_vina(
    receptor="receptor.pdbqt",
    ligand="ligand.pdbqt",
    output="output.pdbqt",
    log_file="vina.log",
    center=[10.0, 5.0, 20.0],
    box_size=[20.0, 20.0, 20.0],
)

Troubleshooting

mk_receptor: command not found meeko is not installed or not on PATH.

pip install meeko

pdbfixer / openmm import error during receptor preparation

conda install -c conda-forge pdbfixer openmm
# or
pip install pdbfixer openmm

PyRosetta fails to install Run the bundled installer which handles license and platform detection:

md_install_dependencies

vina: command not found Vina is not bundled with mutadock. Install it from the official guide.

Matrix download fails If NCBI FTP is unreachable, download the matrix manually and use --matrix-file:

md_csv_generator -i protein.pdb --matrix-file /path/to/PAM30

CIF file not recognized PDBFixer and BioPython both support .cif natively. Make sure the file extension is .cif or .pdb — other extensions are not accepted.

Applications

• Protein Engineering: Identify stabilising mutations for therapeutic proteins
• Drug Discovery: Screen mutant variants for changes in binding affinity
• Biochemical Research: Study how point mutations alter protein–ligand interactions

Contributing

Bug reports and pull requests are welcome at github.com/naisarg14/mutadock. Please open an issue before submitting a large PR so we can discuss the approach.

Documentation

Full API reference: mutadock.readthedocs.io

License

GNU General Public License v3.0 — © 2026 Naisarg Patel

Contact

naisarg.patel14@hotmail.com