Basics of Protein Structure: Difference between revisions

Proteins perform many important functions in living organisms, including movement, immune responses, sensing the environment, energy acquisition, and catalyzing reactions. Proteins are long chains of [[Amino Acids]], and are synthesized by the ribosome, using messenger RNA as a template. There are 20 amino acids commonly found in proteins. <scene name='60/604417/Ala/1'>Amino acids</scene> contain an <scene name='60/604417/Ala_amino/1'>amino group</scene>, a central carbon atom called the alpha carbon, and a <scene name='60/604417/Ala_cooh/1'>carboxylic acid</scene>. The 20 amino acids differ by what is attached to the central atom; is variable portion is referred to as the <scene name='60/604417/Ala_side_chain/1'>side chain</scene>. The amino acid shown is alanine; its side chain is a methyl (-CH3) group. The atoms are displayed using the coloring convention Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen:{{Template:ColorKey_Element_C}}