Dimers are a type of oligomer. They are formed from the linkage of two monomers. ... Non-covalent bonds, such as hydrogen bonds, are used with non-covalent dimers. Covalent bonds are used with covalent dimers.

How are protein dimers formed?

A protein homodimer is formed by two identical proteins. A protein heterodimer is formed by two different proteins. Most protein dimers in biochemistry are not connected by covalent bonds. An example of a non-covalent heterodimer is the enzyme reverse transcriptase, which is composed of two different amino acid chains.

Which proteins form dimers?

A protein dimer called 'tubulin' (molecular weight 110000) composed of two monomeric subunits called 'alpha and beta tubulin' (molecular weight 55000 each), differing from each other in only a few amino acid residues, comprises the basic structural unit of microtubules.