Understanding Protein Structure: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, and Quaternary Levels, Slides of Genetics

Download Understanding Protein Structure: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, and Quaternary Levels and more Slides Genetics in PDF only on Docsity! Protein Structure Docsity.com Proteins • Are made up of amino acids • There are 20 amino acids that are coded for by DNA but more exist that are made by modification after protein production (translation). • Each amino acid has different properties depending on its side chain. Docsity.com Amino acid (1) Peptide bond Dipeptide Amino acid (2) H H R H fo) H Water Docsity.com Docsity.com Secondary Structure • Are structures formed due to hydrogen bonding between amino acids. • The two most common secondary structures are alpha-helixes and pleated sheets. Docsity.com Quaternary Structure • The association of two or more polypeptides in 3d space. Docsity.com Protein folding • Protein folding is very complex, so complex even our most powerful computers are quite up to simulating it…yet. • The final conformation is determined by the interaction between the amino acids and their environment. • Amino acids can be polar, non-polar, charged, acidic or basic, hydrophobic or hydrophilic. These vary properties contribute to how the protein will fold. Docsity.com Why is folding so hard to simulated • The number of possible conformation increases exponentially as the polypeptide length increases. • There are many interactions – with water, other amino acids within the polypeptide, with chaperone proteins that help proteins fold. • When computing power increases it will be possible to simulate protein folding properly. This will allow us to design our own proteins. Docsity.com