Tertiary structure

• what is the tertiary structure of a protein well-known for?

  the a-helix of the secondary structure can be folded and twisted to give a more complex, compact 3D structure
• what is the shape of the 3D structure maintained by?

  • hydrogen bonds
  • ionic bonds
  • disulphide bonds
  • hydrophobic interactions
• why are the bonds that help maintain the 3D structure important?

  they are important in giving globular proteins (e.g. enzymes) their shape