Considering the vast number of animal and plant species on...

Name: Problem 84, Chapter 22: Introduction to General, Organic and Biochemistry
Uploaded: 2021-11-02T18:08:34-08:00
Duration: 4 min 19 s
Channel: Sana Riaz
Description: Considering the vast number of animal and plant species on Earth (including those now extinct) and the large variety of protein molecules in each organism, have all possible protein molecules been used already by some species or other? Explain.

Considering the vast number of animal and plant species on Earth (including those now extinct) and the large variety of protein molecules in each organism, have all possible protein molecules been used already by some species or other? Explain.

Labs

Want to see this concept in action?

NEW

Explore this concept interactively to see how it behaves as you change inputs.

View Labs

Key Concepts

Protein Sequence Space

This concept refers to the theoretically vast number of possible protein sequences that can be generated from combinations of amino acids. Even for proteins of moderate length, the combinatorial possibilities are astronomical, far surpassing the number of proteins produced by life on Earth. This illustrates that the total potential protein space is only minimally explored by natural processes.

Evolutionary Constraints

Evolutionary constraints refer to the restrictions imposed by natural selection on protein sequences. While countless sequences are possible, only those that result in proper folding and functional structures are maintained because they confer some advantage or are at least not harmful. This means that evolution uses only a minute fraction of the theoretically available protein sequences.

Protein Structure-Function Relationship

Proteins need to fold into specific three-dimensional structures to perform their biological functions effectively. The structure-function relationship emphasizes that not all sequences can achieve stable conformations or functional roles, hence only a limited subset of possible sequences is viable in living organisms.

Transcript

Please give Ace some feedback