E-Book Overview
Written for a broad, cross-disciplinary audience, the Encyclopedia of Biological Chemistry addresses the fundamental discipline of biological chemistry underlying virtually all of the life sciences. This compilation of more than 500 different entries encompasses all aspects of biochemistry, as well as the extensions of this subject into the related fields of molecular biology, cell biology, genetics and biophysics. This comprehensive encyclopedia covers all areas of biological chemistry written by more than 500 selected international experts. Articles are generously illustrated including more than 800 images in four-color. Each entry contains a clear, concise review of the topic along with illustrations, a glossary of technical terms and a section for additional reading. Each entry further contains general background and term definitions as well as a comprehensive review of the current research in the field. Students, science journalists and scientists seeking a concise introduction to specific topics will appreciate the clear, tabular format of each entry.
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Secondary Structure in Protein Analysis George D. Rose The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Proteins are linear, unbranched polymers of the 20 naturally occurring amino acid residues. Under physiological conditions, most proteins self-assemble into a unique, biologically relevant structure: the native fold. This structure can be dissected into chemically recognizable, topologically simple elements of secondary structure: a-helix, 310-helix, b-strand, polyproline II helix, turns, and V-loops. Together, these six familiar motifs account for ,95% of the total protein structure, and they are utilized repeatedly in mix-and-match patterns, giving rise to the repertoire of known folds. In principle, a protein’s threedimensional structure is predictable from its amino acid seq