The domain:
- compact structural unit
- part of the polypeptide chain that has a globular structure
- able to fold into stable tertiary structure independently from the other part of the protein
- independent structures and function differently from other regions
HOW IS THE 3D STRUCTURE DETERMINED?
The 3D structure determination of a protein is a long process, required X-ray and 3D structural prediction based on the tertiary/quaternary structure of the current protein.
In practice the method are the following (Figure 1):
- PURIFICATION OF THE PROTEIN
- LETTING THE SAMPLE SOLUTION TO REACH THE SUPERSATURATED STATE - CRYSTAL
- X-RAY DIFFRACTION
- DIFFRACTION PATTERN ANALYSIS, DENSITY MAP GENERATION
- CHAIN TRACING – DATA BANK GENERATION (UNIProt - PDB)