Protein (nonfiction)

Main protein structures levels.

Proteins (/ˈproʊˌtiːnz/ or /ˈproʊti.ᵻnz/) are large biomolecules, or macromolecules, consisting of one or more long chains of amino acid residues.

Description

Proteins perform a vast array of functions within living organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, responding to stimuli, and transporting molecules from one location to another.

Proteins differ from one another primarily in their sequence of amino acids, which is dictated by the nucleotide sequence of their genes, and which usually results in protein folding into a specific three-dimensional structure that determines its activity.

Fiction cross-reference

• 

  Biochemist and crystallographer John Kendrew setting up a perimeter defense of myglobin spikes.

• You and Whose Protein? - a catch phrase

Nonfiction cross-reference

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  A ribosome produces a protein using mRNA as template.

External links

• Protein @ Wikipedia