Cartoon backbone representation
From Proteopedia
| |||||||||
| 1dtg, resolution 2.40Å () | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ligands: | , | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Resources: | FirstGlance, OCA, RCSB, PDBsum | ||||||||
| Coordinates: | save as pdb, mmCIF, xml | ||||||||
Cartoon backbone representation is one way to represent a 3D protein structure that puts emphasis on secondary structure. Showing all of the atoms in a protein structure can be confusing due to the complexity of the structure, so backbone representations, like the cartoon backbone representation, simplify the picture by showing only a trace that connects the alpha-carbons in the structure. The cartoon backbone representation depicts alpha-helices using flat helical sheets and beta-sheets via flat level sheets, many times with arrows to indicate the N->C direction of the helices or sheets.
The structure on the right of a human transferrin n-lobe mutant (PDB code 1dtg) is shown in cartoon backbone representation with alpha-helices in magenta and beta-sheets in yellow.
