Introduction to Proteins

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  • DNA is transcribed to form mRNA in the nucleus. The mRNA is then exported to the cytoplasm. mRNA is then translated into a linear sequence of amino acids that folds into a 3D structure.
  • Amino acids have an alpha carbon central to it. Surrounding the alpha carbon is the amino group, carboxylic acid, and amino acid specific side chain (R group).
  • When the R group is not a hydrogen atom, the alpha carbon is an asymmetric center.
  • At a neutral pH, the amino acid nitrogen is protonated and the carboxylic acid is deprotonated to yield a zwitterion.
  • When four different groups are attached to a carbon atom, the atom is said to be chiral, a stereocenter, or an asymmetric carbon.
  • A Fischer projection is a 2D stereochemical representation.
  • All 20 alpha amino acids, except glycine, contain an asymmetric alpha carbon.
  • L-alanine is the mirror image of D-alanine, so they are enantiomers.
  • The classifications of amino acids are nonpolar aliphatic, nonpolar, nonpolar aromatic, polar, positively charged polar, and negativity charged polar amino acids.
  • The nonpolar aliphatic amino acids are glycine, alanine, valine, leucine, and isoleucine.
  • The nonpolar amino acids are proline and methionine.
  • The nonpolar amino acids are phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan.
  • The polar amino acids are serine, cysteine, threonine, asparagine, and glutamine.
  • The positively charged polar amino acids are histidine, lysine, and arginine.
  • The negatively charged polar amino acids are aspartic acid and glutamic acid.
  • Glycine (Gly, G)
  • Alanine (Ala, A)
  • Valine (Val, V)
  • Leucine (Leu, L)
  • Isoleucine (Ile, I)
  • Proline (Pro, P)
  • Methionine (Met, M)
  • Phenylalanine (Phe, F)
  • Tyrosine (Tyr, Y)
  • Tryptophan (Trp, W)
  • Serine (Ser, S)
  • Cysteine (Cys, C)
  • Threonine (Thr, T)
  • Asparagine (Asn, N)
  • Glutamine (Gln, Q)
  • Histidine (His, H)
  • Lysine (Lys, K)
  • Arginine (Arg, R)
  • Aspartic acid (Asp, D)
  • Glutamic acid (Glu, E)
  • The one letter abbreviation for alanine is A.
  • The three letter abbreviation for alanine is Ala.
  • The one letter abbreviation for arginine is R.
  • The three letter abbreviation for arginine is Arg.
  • The one letter abbreviation for asparagine is N.