Myoglobin

Any discussion of protein structure must necessarily begin with myoglobin, because myoglobin is where the science of protein structure really began. After years of arduous work, John Kendrew and his coworkers determined the atomic structure of myoglobin, laying the foundation for an era of biological understanding. That first glimpse at protein structure is available at the PDB, under the accession code 1mbn. Take a closer look at this molecule, or look directly at the PDB information for 1mbn. You will be amazed, just like the world was in 1960, at the beautiful intricacy of this protein.

Myoglobin and Whale Muscles

Myoglobin is a small, bright red protein. It is very common in muscle cells, and gives meat much of its red color. Its job is to store oxygen, for use when muscles are hard at work. If you look at John Kendrew's PDB file, you will notice that the myoglobin that he used was taken from sperm whale muscles. As you can imagine, marine whales and dolphins have a great need for myoglobin, so that they can store extra oxygen for use in their deep dives undersea.