Organic Chemical
leucine zipper
leu·cine zip·per
Subclass of:
Amino Acid Motifs
Definitions related to leucine zippers:
  • Domains in DNA-binding proteins that contain amino acid sequences that show periodic arrays of leucine residues. These residues exist in an alpha-helical conformation, with the leucine side chains extending from one alpha helix interdigitating with those displayed from a similar alpha helix of a second polypeptide, facilitating dimerization.
    NCI
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • DNA-binding motifs formed from two alpha-helixes which intertwine for about eight turns into a coiled coil and then bifurcate to form Y shaped structures. Leucines occurring in heptad repeats end up on the same sides of the helixes and are adjacent to each other in the stem of the Y (the zipper region). The DNA-binding residues are located in the bifurcated region of the Y.
    NLM Medical Subject Headings
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
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