

The hydrophobic side chains of the α-helix are shown in magenta the hydrophilic side chains of the helix are shown in purple. Ribbon diagrams, also known as Richardson diagrams, are 3D schematic representations of. The other side of the helix, which is exposed to the solvent water, contains hydrophilic side chains. This side packs against hydrophobic side chains in the nonpolar interior of the protein. Note how the hydrophobic side chains of Phe-7, Val-10, and Leu-14, and the hydrophobic part of Tyr-13 are on one side of the helix. Note that all three α-helices are at the surface. The cartoon model of barnase, an extracellular 110-residue ribonuclease from Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. At the same time, strongly hydrophobic side chains will be found at every third or fourth position. N-terminal acetylation is a post-translational modification of proteins in which. Thus, the amino acid sequence of an amphiphilic helix is quite characteristic amino acids that are definitely hydrophilic occur at every second or third position in the sequence. N-terminal protein acetylation, catalyzed by N-terminal. This means that nonpolar side chains in an α-helix near the surface will be on one side of the helix, whereas the polar side chains will tend to be on the other side, where they can project into the water phase. When soluble proteins fold in water, the most stable conformation ought to be the one in which the maximum number of polar groups is on the surface and in contact with water, while at the same time the maximum number of nonpolar side chains is buried and away from the surface. This can use various combinations of commands (you may want to consult the Jmol Interactive Scripting. Open the scripting window of the applet for command entry. As the name implies, an amphipathic (or amphiphilic) helix is an α-helix with both hydrophobic and hydrophilic amino acid residues arranged in such a way as to create two faces on opposite sides of the helix, one face being hydrophobic. Render a MEP surface in Jmol and use this surface with a PDB in your web page.

each stretch ends with an arrowhead (C or 3' terminus). In this example, the spacing between residues in the hydrophobic face follow the i + 3 and i + 4 pattern: i + 3 = 1 + 3 = 4 i + 4 = 4 + 4 = 8 and i + 3 = 8 + 3 = 11.Īmphipathic α-helices can be found at the surface of a water-soluble globular protein, whereas hydrophobic helices are on the inside. The bond color is initially that of the two atoms it joins (each half of the bond takes one. The shaded residues are strongly hydrophobic. This type of representation is referred to as a helical wheel. The view is end-on looking from the amino- to carboxyl-terminal amino acid. J Mol Biol 1998 May 8 278 ( 3 ) : 507-14 Unique chemical reactivity of His - 21 of CRM - 197, a mutated l - transducer complex : insights into the color. Since there are 3.6 amino acid residues per turn, every 3rd or 4th Cα atom is on the same side of the helix.ī.) An amphipathic helix. Figure 1: Spacing of Side Chains in an α-Helix.Ī.) Spacing of the Cα atoms of the main chain.
