Mechanism
Up to four calcium ions are bound by calmodulin via its four EF hand motifs. EF hands supply an electronegative environment for ion coordination. After calcium binding, hydrophobic methyl groups from methionine residues become exposed on the protein via conformational change. This presents hydrophobic surfaces, which can in turn bind to Basic Amphiphilic Helices (BAA helices) on the target protein. These helices contain complementary hydrophobic regions. The flexibility of Calmodulin's hinged region allows the molecule to "wrap around" its target. This property allows it to tightly bind to a wide range of different target proteins.
Read more about this topic: Calmodulin
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