Structural basis for control by phosphorylation

The intracellular phosphorylation by protein kinases, triggered in response to extracellular signals which provided a mechanism for the cell to switch on or switch off many diverse processes was investigated. The processes which included metabolic pathways, kinase cascade activation, membrane transport, gene transcription and motor mechanisms were also studied. The structural studies on protein kinases showed that the peptide substrate in the vicinity of the phosphorylatable residue possessed defined extended conformation.