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A beta hairpin is a common supersecondary motif composed of two anti-parallel beta strands connected by a loop. The structure resembles a hairpin and is often found in globular proteins. The loop between the beta strands can range anywhere from 2 to 16 residues. However, most loops contain less than seven residues. [2]
The resulting structure is a key building block of many RNA secondary structures. Cruciform DNA Cruciform DNA is a form of non-B DNA that requires at least a 6 nucleotide sequence of inverted repeats to form a structure consisting of a stem, branch point and loop in the shape of a cruciform, stabilized by negative DNA supercoiling. [3]
The Dictionary of Protein Secondary Structure, in short DSSP, is commonly used to describe the protein secondary structure with single letter codes. The secondary structure is assigned based on hydrogen bonding patterns as those initially proposed by Pauling et al. in 1951 (before any protein structure had ever been experimentally determined ...
Tertiary protein structures can have multiple secondary elements on the same polypeptide chain. The supersecondary structure refers to a specific combination of secondary structure elements, such as β-α-β units or a helix-turn-helix motif. Some of them may be also referred to as structural motifs.
An alpha-helix with hydrogen bonds (yellow dots) The α-helix is the most abundant type of secondary structure in proteins. The α-helix has 3.6 amino acids per turn with an H-bond formed between every fourth residue; the average length is 10 amino acids (3 turns) or 10 Å but varies from 5 to 40 (1.5 to 11 turns).
For example, the β-hairpin motif consists of two adjacent antiparallel β-strands joined by a small loop. It is present in most antiparallel β structures both as an isolated ribbon and as part of more complex β-sheets. Another common super-secondary structure is the β-α-β motif, which is frequently used to connect two parallel β-strands.
Secondary structure [4] [5] α-Helices Cylindrical spiral ribbons, with ribbon plane approximately following plane of peptides. β-Strands Arrows with thickness, about one-quarter as thick as they are wide, showing direction and twist of the strand from amino to carboxy end. β-sheets are seen as unified because neighboring strands twist in unison.
Over very long evolutionary timescales, very few residues show detectable amino acid sequence conservation, however secondary structural elements and tertiary structural motifs are highly conserved. Some protein dynamics [8] and conformational changes of the protein structure may also be conserved, as is seen in the serpin superfamily. [9]