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protein secondary structure

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Also known as Protein Structure, Secondary

general three-dimensional form of local segments of proteins

Wikidata facts

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Protein structure (2)-en.svg
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Commons category
Secondary protein structure
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via Wikidata · CC0

~13 min read

Encyclopedic overview

The image above contains clickable links This diagram (which is interactive) of protein structure uses PCNA as an example. (PDB: 1AXC​)

Protein secondary structure is the local spatial conformation of the polypeptide backbone excluding the side chains. The two most common secondary structural elements are alpha helices and beta sheets, though beta turns and omega loops occur as well. Secondary structure elements typically spontaneously form as an intermediate before the protein folds into its three dimensional tertiary structure.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “protein secondary structure” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.