Topic 5 Protein Functions

Number of Subunits in Proteins

Figure 5.1: Number of Subunits in Proteins

Many proteins - as seen in figure 5.1 - have multiple subunits and some even have many huge macromolecular assemblies!

Symmetry in Proteins

Figure 5.2: Symmetry in Proteins

Furthermore, multimeric proteins (see 5.2) often have symmetry if they are comprised of many identical subunits.

Remember that fibrous and filamentous proteins are poly-subunit systems that form from subunits that are capable of polymerizing.