Question

difference between motifs and domains

Answer 1

DOMAIN:-
A discrete structural unit that is assumed to fold independently of the rest of the protein and to have its own function. It can be composed of 20 or so amino acid residues to up to hundreds of them. Domains are made up of multiple secondary structure units (alpha helices, beta sheets, etc.) Most proteins are multi-domain. Folds are the core 3-D structures of domains. It is believed that only a few thousand folds exist. A beta-barrel is an example of a fold.

MOTIFS:-
Are short, conserved regions and frequently are the most conserved regions of domains. Motifs are critical for the domain to function - in enzymes, for example, they may contain the active sites. Another example of motifs would be nuclear localization sequences.

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