Most protein is like a jumble of atoms packed together. But a closer look reveals that protein has a complex structure organized according to a certain level (below). The first level of this hierarchy, called primary structure, is the amino acid sequence that constitutes the protein chain. Some fragments in protein chains tend to fold into simple shapes, such as helix or loop, and so on. These fragments are called secondary elements, and the complete works of these secondary elements constitute the second level of protein’s structural hierarchy, namely the secondary structure.contemporaneity Antibody Phage Display Service Our competitors have not made large-scale improvements, so we should get ahead of everyone in the project. https://www.alphalifetech.com/.jpg)
The secondary structural unit is local, except for the ring, the other segments basically travel along the axis direction of the protein chain. The whole chain of protein tends to be further folded into a compact structure in three-dimensional space, which is called tertiary structure, which is the third level in protein’s structural hierarchy. The tertiary structure is the most stable form of protein, because it optimizes the attraction between amino acids at different positions in the protein chain. Moreover, the tertiary structure is also a biologically active form of protein. If this form is destroyed, protein will lose some or all of its functions. Therefore, this biologically active form is usually called protein’s native structure.
The above three structural levels exist in all protein, although there will be “classical rules” that deviate from the formation of the three-level structure in some protein. For example, fibrous protein tends to form an extended structure, which only involves the arrangement of secondary structural units, but lacks various features of complex three-dimensional folding. Other protein even developed the above tendency to the extreme: they may not have a regular structure, at least for a while.