Hydrogen bonded secondary structure regions

The requirements for hydrogen bond preservation in the folded structure result in the cooperative formation of hydrogen-bonded secondary structure regions in proteins. The secondary structure specifies regular polypeptide chain folding patterns of helices, sheets, coils and tnms that are combined/folded into tertiary structure. Studies of two-state structural transition suggest that a statistical method can be developed to predict the... 

Figure 26.5 (a) The o-helical secondary structure of proteins is stabilized by hydrogen bonds between the N—H group of one residue and the C=0 group four residues away, (b) The structure of myoglobin, a globular protein with extensive helical regions that are shown as coiled ribbons in this representation. 

Fibroin, the fibrous protein found in silk, has a secondary structure called a beta- (/8-) pleated sheet, in which a polypeptide chain doubles back on itself after a hairpin bend. The two sections of the chain on either side of the bend line up in a parallel arrangement held together by hydrogen bonds (Figure 24.8). Although not as common as the a-helix, small pleated-sheet regions are often found in proteins. 

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