GroEL belongs to the chaperonin family of molecular chaperones, and is found in a large number of bacteria. It is required for the proper folding of many proteins. To function properly, GroEL requires the lid-like cochaperonin protein complex GroES. In eukaryotes the proteins Hsp60 and Hsp10 are structurally and functionally nearly identical to GroEL and GroES, respectively.