Question

Discuss the structure of β-keratin in detail by referring to the primary, secondary and tertiary structures of the protein?

Answer 1

The proteins are formed by many structural intermediates , stages of folding, modifications etc.

The beta keratin are the keratins found in epidermal cells of the reptiles. They are having beta pleated structure in them , in contrast to alpha keratins who have alpha helical structure.

The proteins mainly have different structures.

Primary structure of protein referes to the sequence of amino acids present in the polypeptide chain.

Secondary structure refers tothe jnteractions amoung amino acids leading to bond formation etc to form 2 types of structures one is alpha helix forming a helical structure of polypeptide chain and other is beta pleated which formes a planer pleated form.

Tertiary structure- is the one where the polypeptide chains are further folded with help of bonds like disulphite and hydrogen bonds and the properties of amino acids like hydrophobic etc. This structure can be globular or fibrillar etc.

The next level is quaternary structure where different polypeptide chains come togethor and fit into each other and form sulphide bonds to form the final protein. Eg. An enzyme.