In biochemistry, a macromolecule exhibits cooperative binding if its affinity for its ligand changes with the amount of ligand already bound.
Cooperative binding is a special case of allostery. Cooperative binding requires that the macromolecule have more than one binding site, since cooperativity results from the interactions between binding sites. If the binding of ligand at one site increases the affinity for ligand at another site, the macromolecule exhibits positive cooperativity. Conversely, if the binding of ligand at one site lowers the affinity for ligand at another site, the protein exhibits negative cooperativity. If the ligand binds at each site independently, the binding is non-cooperative.
Read more about Cooperative Binding: The Hill Coefficient, Mechanisms of Cooperativity, Additional Information
Famous quotes containing the words cooperative and/or binding:
“Then we grow up to be Daddy. Domesticated men with undomesticated, frontier dreams. Suddenly life—or is it the children?—is not as cooperative as it ought to be. It’s tough to be in command of anything when a baby is crying or a ten-year-old is in despair. It’s tough to feel a sense of control when you’ve got to stop six times during the half-hour ride to Grandma’s.”
—Hugh O’Neill (20th century)
“Hate traps us by binding us too tightly to our adversary.”
—Milan Kundera (b. 1929)