Alpha solenoid
Encyclopedia
An alpha solenoid is a protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 fold
Tertiary structure
In biochemistry and molecular biology, the tertiary structure of a protein or any other macromolecule is its three-dimensional structure, as defined by the atomic coordinates.-Relationship to primary structure:...

 found in the protein subunits of light-harvesting complex
Light-harvesting complex
A light-harvesting complex is a complex of subunit proteins that may be part of a larger supercomplex of a photosystem, the functional unit in photosynthesis. It is used by plants and photosynthetic bacteria to collect more of the incoming light than would be captured by the photosynthetic reaction...

es, particularly in the peridinin chlorophyll
Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll is a green pigment found in almost all plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. Its name is derived from the Greek words χλωρος, chloros and φύλλον, phyllon . Chlorophyll is an extremely important biomolecule, critical in photosynthesis, which allows plants to obtain energy from light...

 proteins of dinoflagellate
Dinoflagellate
The dinoflagellates are a large group of flagellate protists. Most are marine plankton, but they are common in fresh water habitats as well. Their populations are distributed depending on temperature, salinity, or depth...

s, and as domains of larger eukaryotic
Eukaryote
A eukaryote is an organism whose cells contain complex structures enclosed within membranes. Eukaryotes may more formally be referred to as the taxon Eukarya or Eukaryota. The defining membrane-bound structure that sets eukaryotic cells apart from prokaryotic cells is the nucleus, or nuclear...

 proteins that make up the nuclear pore complex. The fold consists of alpha helices
Alpha helix
A common motif in the secondary structure of proteins, the alpha helix is a right-handed coiled or spiral conformation, in which every backbone N-H group donates a hydrogen bond to the backbone C=O group of the amino acid four residues earlier...

 arranged in a curved pattern that resembles a jelly roll
Beta barrel
A beta barrel is a large beta-sheet that twists and coils to form a closed structure in which the first strand is hydrogen bonded to the last.Beta-strands in beta-barrels are typically arranged in an antiparallel fashion...

 fold. The extent of an alpha solenoid's curvature depends on the primary sequence; strongly curved solenoids have predictable sequence patterns and have led to the identification of probable solenoid-like components in the proteasome
Proteasome
Proteasomes are very large protein complexes inside all eukaryotes and archaea, and in some bacteria.  In eukaryotes, they are located in the nucleus and the cytoplasm.  The main function of the proteasome is to degrade unneeded or damaged proteins by proteolysis, a chemical reaction that breaks...

.

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