What is protein denaturalization ?

Question

How are the 4 levels of protein structure effected by it?

Answer 1

The temperature and pH level of the protein environment affects protein shape. A change in temperature or pH may cause denaturalization of the protein. Denaturalization is a change in the protein's three-dimensional shape because it will affect the covalent and ionic bonds which are the essence of the 3D structure of the protein. Frying an egg is a common example of denaturalization. The chemical properties of the proteins in the egg change significantly when heat is added. When an egg is heated, normally alpha helical protein segments change to beta sheet conformation. Interestingly, the process can be reversed with chemical denaturants.

Answer 2

Alot of what makes a protein metabolically active is its conformational shape (3D structure). This is specific for each protein. This is accomplished by the sequence of amino acids and covalent and non-covalent bonds that occur in the protein as it passes through the golgi apparatus. When a prtein denatures either chemically (bonds are broken) or thermally (heated up), the three dimensional structure is altered and it no longer has the same shape (even though sometimes it still has the same amino acid sequence).

Answer 3

Denaturalization is a change in the protein's three-dimensional shape. A change in temperature or pH may cause denaturalization of the protein.