Embedded Files
Proteins are made of amino acids. Proteins are structural support, biochemical catalysts, hormones, enzymes, basically just building blocks of cells and microscopic organisms. They are not alive and can be defined by four structural levels:
-Primary
Primary proteins are the most basic protein structures and is composed of the linear order of amino acid residues. The residues are connected by peptide bonds which have designated carbon atom positions. These are sometimes called the protein backbone.
-Secondary
The secondary structure consists of the various shapes formed by hydrogen bonding, which include "alpha helix, beta-pleated sheet, and beta-turn". Hydrogen bonds stabilize all of these shapes.
-Tertiary
Tertiary structures consist of the 3D shape that forms when the polypeptide chain "backbone" (top) interacts with a watery environment, which then immediately begins to form when a synthesized polypeptide chain exits (has to be terminal end) of the ribosomal (controls proteins) complex.
-Quaternary.
Quaternary protein structures are formed when complexes form from multiple polypeptide chains called subunits. An example is hemoglobin and how its (tetrameric) structure forms (when two alpha and two beta subunits chemically interact). A quaternary structure is technically the 3D arrangement of two or more polypeptides in a protein, each folding independently.
When proteins fold incorrectly, they form prions.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse