Tertiary structure

In biochemistry, the tertiary structure of a protein is its overall shape. All protein molecules are simple unbranched chains of amino acids, but it is by coiling into a specific three-dimensional shape that they are able to perform their biological function. The tertiary structure that a protein assumes to carry out its physiological role inside a cell is known as the native state or sometimes the native conformation. A protein assumes tertiary structure by "folding". An important type of chemical bond involved in stabilizing the tertiary structure of many proteins is the disulfide bond.

Related Topics:
Biochemistry - Protein - Amino acid - Cell - Native state - Native conformation - Folding - Chemical bond - Disulfide bond

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One goal of bioinformatics is to predict the native conformation of a protein from its primary sequence. Conventionally, tertiary structures are deduced through crystallography or multidimensional NMR. The study of protein tertiary structure is known as structural biology.

Related Topics:
Bioinformatics - Predict - Primary sequence - Crystallography - NMR - Structural biology

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:See also: primary structure -- secondary structure -- quaternary structure -- structural biology

Related Topics:
Primary structure - Secondary structure - Quaternary structure - Structural biology

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