Protein structure
hideProteins are an important class of biological macromolecules present in all biological organisms, made up of such elements as carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulphur. All proteins are polymers of amino acids. The polymers, also known as polypeptides, consist of a sequence of 20 different L-α-amino acids, also referred to as residues. For chains under 40 residues the term peptide is frequently used instead of protein. To be able to perform their biological function, proteins fold into one, or more, specific spatial conformations, driven by a number of noncovalent interactions such as hydrogen bonding, ionic interactions, Van Der Waals forces and hydrophobic packing. In order to understand the functions of proteins at a molecular level, it is often necessary to determine the three dimensional structure of proteins. This is the topic of the scientific field of structural biology, that employs techniques such as X-ray crystallography or NMR spectroscopy, to determine the structure of proteins.
A number of residues are necessary to perform a particular biochemical function, and around 40-50 residues appears to be the lower limit for a functional domain size. Protein sizes range from this lower limit to several thousand residues in multi-functional or structural proteins. However, the current estimate for the average protein length is around 300 residues. Very large aggregates can be formed from protein subunits, for example many thousand actin molecules assemble into a microfilament.
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News tagged with protein structure
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Dec 03, 2009 |
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Scientists at Boston Biomedical Research Institute (BBRI) and the University of Pennsylvania have found that combining two chemicals, one of which is the green tea component EGCG, can prevent and destroy a variety of protein ...
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Dec 02, 2009 |
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An important Brandeis study appearing in the December 3 issue of Nature raises the curtain on the hidden lives of proteins at the atomic level. The study reports that for the first time, researchers used x ...
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Study Unravels Detail of 'Most Important' Cellular Signal
Dec 03, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study provides crucial details that promise to help researchers better understand, and perhaps fine-tune with drugs, one of the most important signaling mechanisms in human cells, according to a study ...
A challenge to improve Nuclear Magnetic Resonance for structural biology
Nov 30, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- In structural biology, the only technique available to predict the three dimensional structure of large complex molecules in solution, such as proteins and DNA, is NMR spectroscopy. To catalyze improvements ...
Researchers Identify Key Molecules in Photosynthesis
Dec 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Chemistry professor Harry Frank led an international group of researchers that identified the molecules in algae which direct the organisms to convert sunlight into oxygen. The findings may ...
A little magic provides an atomic-level look at bone
Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry
Dec 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study using solid-state NMR spectroscopy to analyze intact bone paves the way for atomic-level explorations of how disease and aging affect bone. The research by scientists at the University of Michigan ...
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Scientists are building a clearer image of the machinery employed by bacteria to spread antibiotic resistance or cause diseases such as whooping cough, peptic stomach ulcers and legionnaires' disease.
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It turns out that wearing a cap is good for you, at least if you are a mammal cell.
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Yale University researchers have found very large RNA structures within previously unstudied bacteria that appear crucial to basic biological functions such as helping viruses infect cells ...
Researchers find long awaited key to creating drought resistant crops
Dec 03, 2009 |
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Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) researchers have determined precisely how the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) works at the molecular level to help plants respond to environmental stresses such as drought and cold. ...
Stick and slide: Computer simulation advances understanding of molecular motors
Dec 02, 2009 |
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A new study reveals how molecular motors that power important subcellular movements can generate cyclical motion. The research, published by Cell Press in the December issue of the Biophysical Journal, opens a new door t ...
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