Ribbon diagram

A schematic of a protein’s three-dimensional structure that represents its backbone as ribbons and highlights secondary-structure elements such as alpha helices and beta sheets.

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Protein structure: The three-dimensional arrangement of atoms in a protein, including its backbone and side chains. Ribbon diagrams depict this overall arrangement at a glance.
Protein Data Bank: An international archive of experimentally determined three-dimensional structures of proteins and other biological macromolecules. Its coordinate files provide structures that software can render as ribbons.
Molecular visualization software: Software for displaying and analyzing molecular structures and properties. These tools create ribbon diagrams from protein structure data.
Ball-and-stick model: A molecular model that represents atoms as spheres and bonds as connecting sticks. It shows atomic connectivity that a simplified backbone ribbon leaves out.
Protein backbone: The repeating chain of atoms linking amino acids in a protein, excluding their side chains. The ribbon traces this chain to show the protein’s fold.
Molecular graphics: Computer-generated visual representations of molecules and their structures. Ribbon diagrams are one established molecular-graphics representation.
ChimeraX: A program for interactive visualization and analysis of molecular structures and related data. It renders ribbons alongside density maps, sequences, and other structural evidence.
Space-filling model: A molecular representation using overlapping spheres sized to approximate atoms’ van der Waals radii. It emphasizes molecular volume and surface rather than the protein’s fold.
Alpha helix: A common protein secondary structure in which the backbone coils into a right-handed helix. Ribbon diagrams commonly depict this element as a spiral or coiled ribbon.
Secondary structure: Local recurring patterns in a protein backbone, chiefly alpha helices and beta sheets. Structure assignment identifies the elements that ribbon diagrams emphasize.