Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 8.4
Pairing of RNA bases leads to a complex molecular structure (
Escherichia coli
16S ribo-
somal RNA secondary structure). (Courtesy of Prof. P. H. Noller.)
The primary sequence of proteins thus mirrors the one of the initial DNA mol-
ecule. This sequence also determines their 3-D structure since interactions between
amino acids fold the protein. Compared to RNA, these interactions are more di-
verse than and not as specific as base pairing: Van der Waals interactions, electro-
static interactions, and hydrogen bonds combine together to shape the proteins into
