Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
(a)
(b)
FIGURE 8.1
(a) Structural organisation of a ferritin protein (From
Watt, Hilton, & Graff, 2010
.
Reproduced with permission from Elsevier).
(b) Structural organisation of a Dps protein. (From
Chiancone & Ceci, 2010
.
Reproduced with permission from Elsevier.)
either 24 (ferritins and bacterioferritins) or 12 (Dps proteins) similar if not identical subunits. Their subunits are
folded in a central bundle of four
-helices, which assemble to form a roughly spherical protein shell surrounding
a central cavity within which iron is stored (up to 4,500 iron atoms per 24mer in ferritins and bacterioferritins and
around 500 in the smaller Dps protein 12mer).
a
