Overview of protein molecular structures: Implications for functions

Abstract

Proteins are one of the most important classes of macromolecules implicated in diverse critical biological processes. Each individual protein molecule is composed of a unique amino acid sequence encoded by the genome of the given organism. Based on its unique amino acid sequence, each protein molecule adopts a definite three-dimensional structure that ultimately dictates the functionality of the given protein. Toward elucidating this ‘protein structure-function paradigm’, the present discussion attempts to highlight some of the salient features of the protein molecular structures with special emphasis on some of the prominent protein structural folds, families, and superfamilies.