chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

, a compartment is a part of a

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

that serves a specific function. They are essentially protein subunits with the added condition that a compartment has distinct functionality, rather than being just a structural component. There may be multiple compartments on one and the same protein. One example is the case of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex. This is the enzyme which catalyses pyruvate decarboxylation, the reaction of pyruvate with

coenzyme A Coenzyme A (CoA, SHCoA, CoASH) is a coenzyme, notable for its role in the Fatty acid metabolism#Synthesis, synthesis and Fatty acid metabolism#.CE.B2-Oxidation, oxidation of fatty acids, and the oxidation of pyruvic acid, pyruvate in the citric ac ...

and the major entry point into the TCA cycle: :Pyruvate + Coenzyme A + NAD⁺ ⇒ acetyl-CoA + NADH + H⁺ + CO₂ Pyruvate dehydrogenase has three chemical compartments; E1 ( pyruvate decarboxylase), E2 ( dihydrolipoyl transacetylase) and E3 ( dihydrolipoyl dehydrogenase). Each one of the compartments has its own specific function.

References

Molecular biology {{biochemistry-stub