Page 508 - Veterinary Immunology, 10th Edition

configuration. The shape of a peptide chain therefore represents the
VetBooks.ir contributions of all amino acids in the chain as the peptide assumes

its most energetically favorable conformation. The folding of a
protein is determined by its amino acid sequence, and that

sequence is determined by the sequence of bases in the DNA
coding for that protein. The diversity of antigen receptors implies
either a corresponding diversity in the genes coding for these
receptors or a mechanism that generates diversity from a limited

pool of receptor genes. This second mechanism is now known to be
the method used by the adaptive immune system.

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