Biomolecular complex
Biomolecular complex, also called macromolecular complex or biomacromolecular complex, is any biological complex made of more than one molecule of protein, RNA, DNA, [1] lipids, carbohydrates. The interactions between these biomolecules are non-covalent. [2] Examples:
- protein complexes: proteasome, DNA polymerase III holoenzyme, RNA polymerase II holoenzyme, symmetric viral capsids, complex of GroEL and GroES, photosystem I, ATP synthase
- RNA-protein complexes: ribosome, spliceosome, vault, SnRNP. Such complexes in cell nucleus are called ribonucleoproteins (RNPs).
- DNA-protein complexes: nucleosome
- Protein-lipid complexes: lipoprotein
The biomacromolecular complexes are studied structurally by X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy of proteins, cryo-electron microscopy and successive single particle analysis, and electron tomography. [3] The atomic structure models obtained by X-ray crystallography and biomolecular NMR spectroscopy can be docked into the much larger structures of biomolecular complexes obtained by lower resolution techniques like electron microscopy, electron tomography, and small-angle X-ray scattering. [4]
See also
- Macromolecular assembly: macromolecular assembly in biology is the same as biomacromolecular complex.
- Organelle: the broadest definition of "organelle" includes not only membrane bound cellular structures, but also very large biomolecular complexes.
- Multi-state modeling of biomolecules
References
Further reading
- Berg, J. Tymoczko, J. and Stryer, L., Biochemistry. (W. H. Freeman and Company, 2002), ISBN 0-7167-4955-6
- Cox, M. and Nelson, D. L., Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry. (Palgrave Macmillan, 2004), ISBN 0-7167-4339-6
