Methods For Determining Protein Structures Flashcards
What is quaternary structure in proteins?
The association of two or more polypeptide chains into a multisubunit, or oligomeric protein.
Some proteins possess quaternary structure.
How can the amino acid sequence of polypeptides be determined?
The amino acid sequence of polypeptides (i.e., primary structure) can be determined directly by sequencing the protein or indirectly by sequencing the gene.
As we saw in Chapter 3.
What is the usual technique for determining the three-dimensional conformation of a protein?
X-ray crystallography.
In this technique, a beam of collimated X rays is aimed at a crystal of protein molecules.
Who solved the structure of penicillin in 1947?
Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin.
She was one of the early pioneers in the application of X-ray crystallography to biological molecules.
What did John C. Kendrew and Max Perutz elucidate using large computers at Cambridge University?
The structures of the proteins myoglobin and hemoglobin.
Their results provided the first insights into the nature of the tertiary structures of proteins.
