The Microbial World

Figure 2-11 The α helix motif in proteins

This figure shows two common depictions of an α-helix, an extremely common and important motif in proteins. The ball-and-stick depiction on the left shows the various side chains, but the helical nature of the structure is not so obvious. The ribbon representation on the right only traces the backbone of the peptide bonds and overemphasizes the symmetry a bit, but shows the helical nature of the structure.