Illustrated Glossary of Organic Chemistry
Quaternary
structure
:
Noncovalent
association of subunits (
proteins
,
coenzymes
, etc.) into a single, larger
protein
structure
.
Association of four separate subunits (blue, yellow, red, and green) to form one larger
structure
.
Lactate dehydrogenase
is a
tetramer
of four identical
proteins
, forming one larger
protein
structure
.
Related terms:
Primary structure
,
secondary structure
,
tertiary structure
,
quaternary carbon
,
quaternary ammonium salt
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