2.1. Changes in the environment of proteins can alter their structures
The balance between large and opposing entropic and enthalpic effects, both of which are highly temperature dependent, maintains protein structures (Kristjansson and Kinsella, 1991). In general, protein structures are only marginally stable under a limited range of physiological conditions and are easily disrupted by any environmental changes, such as shifts in temperature, variation of pH, or physical disruption, that overcome the forces keeping them folded (Creighton, 1993). Denaturation of proteins occurs as a drastic change in structure that invariably results in a complete loss of biological function, as the denatured polypeptide is more like a random coil than a folded protein. As the environment of a protein is gradually altered toward conditions that favor unfolding, the folded structure initially changes very little, if at all, but suddenly, the protein will unfold. The abruptness of the protein denaturation transition results because the process is highly cooperative. For example, as pH varies, multiple charged amino acids change ionization state simultaneously. Similarly, increased temperature affects all the forces that maintain a stable protein structure at the same time. Denaturation can also result from other changes to a protein, such as altered oxidation state or the removal of cofactors and prosthetic groups. Typically, denaturation does not involve changes in the primary structure of a protein (i.e., degradation of the polypeptide chain). The environmental conditions that cause denaturation may differ for each protein (Pearce, 1989), but proteins that function under normal physiological conditions tend to have similar stabilities to unfolding, even though they have different amino acid sequences and three-dimensional structures (Creighton, 1993). For purposes of this review, all of the proteins involved in food processing are from mesophiles (organisms that grow at moderate (15–40 C) temperatures). It is recognized that proteins from organisms adapted to extreme environments (high or low temperature – psychrophiles and thermophiles; high salt – halophiles; low pH – acidophiles) are intrinsically resistant to harsh environmental conditions because of thermodynamic interactions unique to those proteins that provide additional structural stability. But the types of proteins intended for use in agricultural biotechnology crops would not typically be derived from extremophile organisms.