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Protein structure is the three-dimensional arrangement of atoms in an amino acid-chain molecule. Proteins are polymers – specifically polypeptides – formed from sequences of amino acids, which are the monomers of the polymer. A single amino acid monomer may also be called a residue, which indicates a
The first protein to have its amino acid chain sequenced was insulin, by Frederick Sanger, in 1949. Sanger correctly determined the amino acid sequence of insulin, thus conclusively demonstrating that proteins consisted of linear polymers of amino acids rather than branched chains, colloids, or cyclols. [21]
Amino acids are not typical component of food: animals eat proteins. The protein is broken down into amino acids in the process of digestion. They are then used to synthesize new proteins, other biomolecules, or are oxidized to urea and carbon dioxide as a source of energy. [78]
All polymers are made of repetitive units called monomers. Biopolymers often have a well-defined structure, though this is not a defining characteristic (example: lignocellulose ): The exact chemical composition and the sequence in which these units are arranged is called the primary structure , in the case of proteins.
Peptides and proteins are often described by the number of amino acids in their chain, e.g. a protein with 158 amino acids may be described as a "158 amino-acid-long protein". Peptides of specific shorter lengths are named using IUPAC numerical multiplier prefixes:
Sidney Walter Fox (24 March 1912 – 10 August 1998) was a Los Angeles-born biochemist responsible for discoveries on the origins of biological systems. Fox explored the synthesis of amino acids from inorganic molecules, the synthesis of proteinous amino acids and amino acid polymers called "proteinoids" from inorganic molecules and thermal energy, and created what he thought was the world's ...
Protein sequence is typically notated as a string of letters, listing the amino acids starting at the amino-terminal end through to the carboxyl-terminal end. Either a three letter code or single letter code can be used to represent the 22 naturally encoded amino acids, as well as mixtures or ambiguous amino acids (similar to nucleic acid ...
Proteins are characterized by amide linkages (-N(H)-C(O)-) formed by the condensation of amino acids. The sequence of the amino acids in the polypeptide backbone is known as the primary structure of the protein. Like almost all polymers, protein fold and twist, forming into the secondary structure, which is rigidified by hydrogen bonding ...