Every protein molecule has the property of making transitions from one structure to another.
These structures can also be referred as conformationsThe most important effect of these transitions can be seen in terms of transportation. This property is actually one of the key factors for membrane transport. When we say that each protein has at least two different structures, we are actually referring to two different possible phases that is needed for membrane transport. The conformational change in a carrier protein can cause the passive transport of an element needed in the cell. When we talk about conformational change, that does not mean that we are changing the whole protein structure, only a specific domain changes while the backbone is stable.