nf-core / nf-core/proteinfold

Add DockQ v2 protein complex interface quality scoring

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#516 0 comments 0 reactions 1 assignee View on GitHub

@sudekaraoglan is already working on this.

Since Mar 13, 2026.

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Description

Description of feature

Summary

This issue proposes adding DockQ v2 as a new interface quality scoring module
This work will be started during the nf-core Hackathon March 2026.

Background

When predicting protein complexes (co-folding), it is not sufficient to evaluate
the overall structural accuracy - the quality of the binding interface between
the two proteins is equally important, as this is where biological function occurs.

DockQ v2 addresses this by providing:

  • iRMSD — interface RMSD (accuracy at the contact surface)
  • LRMSD — ligand RMSD (accuracy of the smaller chain)
  • fnat — fraction of native contacts correctly predicted
  • DockQ score — single combined interface quality score (0 to 1)

This makes DockQ v2 a natural complement to US-align (Issue #515):
US-align evaluates global structure, DockQ evaluates the binding interface specifically.

Proposed implementation

  • No official Docker image exists — custom Dockerfile required
  • Install via pip: pip install DockQ
  • Source: https://github.com/bjornwallner/DockQ
  • Input: predicted complex PDB + reference complex PDB
  • Output: iRMSD, LRMSD, fnat, DockQ score
  • New nf-core module: dockq/score

Resources

Tasks

  • Write custom Dockerfile for DockQ v2
  • Push image to GitHub Container Registry or Docker Hub
  • Write nf-core module for dockq/score
  • Connect as optional evaluation step after co-folding
  • Test with predicted vs reference complex PDB pair
  • Document usage in pipeline README

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Assessment

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