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Protein tertiary structure
Three dimensional shape of a protein / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about tertiary structure in protein. For the article about tertiary structure in nucleic acid, see Nucleic acid tertiary structure.
Protein tertiary structure is the three-dimensional shape of a protein. The tertiary structure will have a single polypeptide chain "backbone" with one or more protein secondary structures, the protein domains. Amino acid side chains and the backbone may interact and bond in a number of ways. The interactions and bonds of side chains within a particular protein determine its tertiary structure. The protein tertiary structure is defined by its atomic coordinates. These coordinates may refer either to a protein domain or to the entire tertiary structure.[1][2] A number of these structures may bind to each other, forming a quaternary structure.[3]
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