Protein Domains

Describe the Nature, Structure, and Function of Domains in Proteins Domains "Within a single subunit [polypeptide chain], contiguous portions of the polypeptide chain frequently fold into compact, local semi-independent units called domains." - Richardson, 1981 In the hierarchial organisation of proteins, domains are found at the highest level of tertiary structure. Since the term was first used by Wetlaufer (1973) a number of definitions exist reflecting author bias, however all of the definitions agree that domains are …

…of any experimental evidence, in any of the resources that I have looked in, the idea that a multi-domain architecture makes the folding of large proteins more efficient seems viable. Thus I can conclude in reinstating that domains are ‘Protein evolutionary units’ and the ‘Basic currency of Proteins. They are extremely specific and provide adaptations and functions that speed up various biological processes. However there is still a lot left to be learnt and understand.