Problem Set Questions: 1) What is the difference between \"structural\", \"seque

Question

Problem Set Questions: 1) What is the difference between "structural", "sequence", and "functional" protein motifs? Can "functional" motifs also be "structural", and/oir sequence" motifs? 2) The "EF hand" motif is a functional motif that binds Ca2, but generally this arrangement of secondary structure elements is also a type of structural motif. Which structural motif is the EF hand? 3) Amino acid sequence is the primary structure of proteins, and as we have seen thus far in BCH 3125, amino acid sequence determines protein structure. If sequence motifs always have a similar sequence, shouldn't they have a similar structure? What then is the difference between a structural motif and a sequence motif? 4) "Domains are the fundamental building blocks in the evolution of complex protein structure. Gene duplication and genetic recombination have resulted in the combinatorial creation of multifunctional proteins by mixing and matching domains." (Kuriyan et al. Molecules of Life, page 133) Explain, in your own words, what this means, and provide an example.

Explanation / Answer

Structural protein maintain cell shape, akin to a skeleton, and they compose structural elements in connective tissues like cartilage and bone in vertebrates.

The EF hand is a helix-loop-helix structural domain or motif found in a large family of calcium-binding proteins.

A structural motif is a supersecondary structure, which also appears in a variety of other molecule, but the sequence motif is a motif formed by the three-dimensional arrangement of amino acids which may not be adjacent.

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