15 Facts About Protein domain

In molecular biology, a protein domain is a region of a protein's polypeptide chain that is self-stabilizing and that folds independently from the rest.

Concept of the Protein domain was first proposed in 1973 by Wetlaufer after X-raycrystallographic studies of hen lysozyme and papainand by limited proteolysis studies of immunoglobulins.

Each definition is valid and will often overlap, i e a compact structural domain that is found amongst diverse proteins is likely to fold independently within its structural environment.

Domains are the fundamental units of tertiary structure, each Protein domain containing an individual hydrophobic core built from secondary structural units connected by loop regions.

The packing of the polypeptide is usually much tighter in the interior than the exterior of the Protein domain producing a solid-like core and a fluid-like surface.

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In domain swapping, a secondary or tertiary element of a monomeric protein is replaced by the same element of another protein.

Many Protein domain families are found in all three forms of life, Archaea, Bacteria and Eukarya.

The kinesin motor Protein domain can be at either end of a polypeptide chain that includes a coiled-coil region and a cargo Protein domain.

Since a domain can be inserted into another, there should always be at least one continuous domain in a multidomain protein.

Organisation of large proteins by structural domains represents an advantage for protein folding, with each domain being able to individually fold, accelerating the folding process and reducing a potentially large combination of residue interactions.

Furthermore, given the observed random distribution of hydrophobic residues in proteins, domain formation appears to be the optimal solution for a large protein to bury its hydrophobic residues while keeping the hydrophilic residues at the surface.

Automatic procedures for reliable domain assignment is essential for the generation of the domain databases, especially as the number of known protein structures is increasing.

The fact that there is no standard definition of what a Protein domain really is has meant that Protein domain assignments have varied enormously, with each researcher using a unique set of criteria.

Structural domain is a compact, globular sub-structure with more interactions within it than with the rest of the protein.

Therefore, a structural Protein domain can be determined by two visual characteristics: its compactness and its extent of isolation.