Primary structure

In biochemistry, the primary structure of a biopolymer, such as a polynucleotide[?], polypeptide or protein is the linear sequence of its contituent nucleic acid or amino acid residues.

The structural information in a primary structure is mostly the identity and relative location along the biopolymer backbone of the individual monomer sidechains[?]. At the atomic level, very few types of dihedral angles[?] are specified at this level of structure. Nor are many non-bonded interatomic contacts specified.

However, the nature of nearly all of the covalent bonds and of many of the bond angles[?] are implied at the level of primary structure based on the structural invariants inherent in the monomers involved, and therefore the primary structure is rich with information.

The primary structure of a biomolecule is strongly correlated with its biological function. With very rare exceptions, a biopolymer's biochemical role can be uniquely identified with the primary sequence alone.

See also : secondary structure -- tertiary structure -- quaternary structure -- translation