Biomolecular Structure and Function

Professor Miesfeld at the University of Arizona

This Online Biochemistry Course is based on Miesfeld’s Biochemistry (3rd Edition)

In biochemistry, molecular structure usually determines function, but there are important exceptions: similar structures can have different functions, and the same function can come from very different structures. This video covers how evolution, sequence conservation, and gene duplication shape the structure and function of proteins.

Key concepts covered: structure determines function, divergent vs. convergent evolution, natural selection and protein evolution, sequence conservation, enzyme active sites, gene duplication, paralogous and orthologous genes, bioinformatics.