In: Biology
is keratin fibrous or globular? why?
keratin is fibrous.The final β-pleated sheet structure of silk is the result of the interaction of many individual protein chains. Specifically, hydrogen bonding on amide groups on different chains is the basis of β-pleated sheet in silk proteins.
Keratin is the major structural fibrous protein to form wool,hair, nails,feathers and horns of many kinds of animals, and has a large concentration of cysteine, 7 - 20% of the total amino acid residues, that form inter-and intra-molecular disulfide bonds
keratins in wool and hair are composed of coiled α helical protein chains with other various coils analogous to those found in a rope. Other keratins are found in skin, fur,wool,hair,claws, nails, hooves, horns, scales, beaks, feathers, actin and mysin in muscle tissues and fibrinogen needed for blood clots.
Keratin has two main functions: