Repeat proteins challenge the concept of structural domains

Biochem Soc Trans. 2015 Oct;43(5):844-9. doi: 10.1042/BST20150083.

Abstract

Structural domains are believed to be modules within proteins that can fold and function independently. Some proteins show tandem repetitions of apparent modular structure that do not fold independently, but rather co-operate in stabilizing structural forms that comprise several repeat-units. For many natural repeat-proteins, it has been shown that weak energetic links between repeats lead to the breakdown of co-operativity and the appearance of folding sub-domains within an apparently regular repeat array. The quasi-1D architecture of repeat-proteins is crucial in detailing how the local energetic balances can modulate the folding dynamics of these proteins, which can be related to the physiological behaviour of these ubiquitous biological systems.

Keywords: ankyrin-repeat; local frustration; repeat-protein.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Energy Transfer
  • Evolution, Molecular
  • Humans
  • Models, Molecular*
  • Protein Conformation*
  • Protein Folding
  • Protein Interaction Domains and Motifs
  • Protein Stability
  • Protein Structure, Secondary
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Repetitive Sequences, Amino Acid*
  • Tandem Repeat Sequences*