ter·ti·ar·y struc·ture

the three-dimensional configuration of a biopolymer.

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

tertiary structure

The complete three-dimensional structure of all the atoms in a protein or nucleic acid, consisting of the arrangement of the secondary structure into patterns such as folds and supercoils.

tertiary structure

Used mainly of a protein to refer to its three-dimensional folded shape in space. The primary structure is simply the order of the amino acids in the polypeptide chain; the secondary structure may be a coiling, the alpha helix, or a layering known as the beta-pleated sheet. The tertiary structure is determined by chemically active groups spaced along the chain that attract each other to form bonds at specific positions. The tertiary structure of proteins such as enzymes, is crucial to their function.

Collins Dictionary of Medicine © Robert M. Youngson 2004, 2005

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References in periodicals archive

The Ramachandran plot of tertiary structure showed that 86.3% amino acid residues of Der f 33 were within the most favored regions, 12.3% of residues were in the additional allowed region, 0.5% residues in the generously allowed regions, and 1.0% residues in the disallowed region.

Homology modeling and epitope prediction of Der f 33

The specific agonists (gW0742, GW501516, and L-165,041) lead to an increase in the protein melting temperatures ([T.sub.m]) in comparison to the apo-PPAR[beta]/[delta] [T.sub.m], indicating tertiary structure stabilization (Figure 5(a)).

Cellular and Biophysical Pipeline for the Screening of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Beta/Delta Agonists: Avoiding False Positives

Protein tertiary structure should also be predicted to get better idea about presence and locations of helices, strands, turns and coils.

Bioinformatics Characterization of Growth Differentiation Factor 11 of Oryctolagus cuniculus

In this study, the focus was within the boundary layer and at the substratum interface, with a special emphasis on the influence of concavity and tertiary structure. At this scale, flow, substratum-driven turbulence, and larval behavior all interact to determine settlement success.

Laboratory settlement of the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica influenced by substratum concavity, orientation, and tertiary arrangement

Caption: Figure 3: Modeled tertiary structure of Dm-Csp1.

Predicted Cold Shock Proteins from the Extremophilic Bacterium Deinococcus maricopensis and Related Deinococcus Species

Frozen storage directly altered the tertiary structure of protein molecules, which results in functionality loss as observed by a decline in gelling ability (Figure 5).

Effects of Ozone Treatments on the Physicochemical Changes of Myofibrillar Proteins from Silver Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) during Frozen Storage

Draper, "Evidence for a thermodynamically distinct [Mg.sup.2+] ion associated with formation of an RNA tertiary structure," Journal of the American Chemical Society, vol.

The 2D Structure of the T. brucei Preedited RPS12 mRNA Is Not Affected by Macromolecular Crowding

Predictions of secondary and tertiary structures were generated using the Phyre version 2 web server (http://www.sbg.bio.ic.ac.uk/phyre2/html/page.cgi?id = index).

Association Between Dentin Matrix Protein 1 (rs10019009) Polymorphism and Ankylosing Spondylitis in a Chinese Han Population from Shandong Province

In order to be confident in the quality of research reagents, we need assurances of the protein's primary structure, presence and stoichiometry of co-factors, tertiary structure and functionality.

Seeking out proper protein reagents: quality controls are needed to secure research efforts

Near-UV CD spectrum provides information about the protein's tertiary structure. Figure 2(b) shows near-UV CD spectra of different states of BLA.

Molten globule-like partially folded state of Bacillus licheniformis [alpha]-amylase at low ph induced by 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropanol

The biocatalytic activity of the enzyme largely depends on its tertiary structure, which ideally should remain unchanged when the enzyme is immobilized on the surface of the core/shell nanoparticles.

Immobilization of [alpha]-Chymotrypsin on the surface of magnetic/gold core/shell nanoparticles

Inoue et al., "NMR study on the major mite allergen Der f 2: its refined tertiary structure, epitopes for monoclonal antibodies and characteristics shared by ML protein group members," Journal of Biochemistry, vol.

Reduction of the number of major representative allergens: from clinical testing to 3-dimensional structures