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Selenocysteine Skeletal 3D
Selenocysteine (symbol Sec or U, in older publications also as Se-Cys) is the 21st proteinogenic amino acid. Selenoproteins contain selenocysteine residues. Selenocysteine is an analogue of the more common cysteine with selenium in place of the sulfur. Selenocysteine is present in several enzymes (for example glutathione peroxidases, tetraiodothyronine 5′ deiodinases, thioredoxin reductases, formate dehydrogenases, glycine reductases, selenophosphate synthetase 2, methionine-''R''-sulfoxide reductase B1 (SEPX1), and some hydrogenases). It occurs in all three domains of life, including important enzymes (listed above) present in humans. Selenocysteine was discovered by biochemist Thressa Stadtman at the National Institutes of Health. Chemistry Selenocysteine is the Se-analogue of cysteine. It is rarely encountered outside of living tissue (and is not available commercially) because it is very susceptible to air-oxidation. More common is the oxidized derivative selenocystine, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merck Index
''The Merck Index'' is an encyclopedia of chemical substance, chemicals, pharmaceutical drug, drugs and biomolecule, biologicals with over 10,000 monographs, monograph on single substances or groups of related chemical compound, compounds published online by the Royal Society of Chemistry. History The first edition of the Merck's Index was published in 1889 by the German chemical company Merck Group, Emanuel Merck and was primarily used as a sales catalog for Merck's growing list of chemicals it sold. The American subsidiary was established two years later and continued to publish it. During World War I the US government seized Merck's US operations and made it a separate American "Merck" company that continued to publish the Merck Index. In 2012 the Merck Index was licensed to the Royal Society of Chemistry. An online version of The Merck Index, including historic records and new updates not in the print edition, is commonly available through research libraries. It also include ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thressa Stadtman
Thressa Campbell Stadtman (February 12, 1920 – December 11, 2016) was an American biochemist, notable for her discovery of selenocysteine, and her research on selenoproteins and bioenergetics. In addition she made significant advances in amino acid metabolism, enzymes dependent on vitamin B12, and the biochemistry of microbes. Life In 1920, she was born in Sterling, New York. In 1940, she graduated from Cornell University, with a B.S. in Microbiology, and in 1942, with a M.S. in Microbiology and Nutrition. In 1949, she graduated from University of California, Berkeley, with a Ph.D. in Microbial Biochemistry. Her thesis was titled "Studies on Methane Fermentations", and subsequently worked as a postdoc for Christian B. Anfinsen. She was married to Earl Reece Stadtman whom she met when they were both graduate students at the University of California, Berkeley. They were both hired by what was then the National Heart Institute in 1950 becoming the first husband-and-wife team at th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genetic Code
The genetic code is the set of rules used by living cells to translate information encoded within genetic material ( DNA or RNA sequences of nucleotide triplets, or codons) into proteins. Translation is accomplished by the ribosome, which links proteinogenic amino acids in an order specified by messenger RNA (mRNA), using transfer RNA (tRNA) molecules to carry amino acids and to read the mRNA three nucleotides at a time. The genetic code is highly similar among all organisms and can be expressed in a simple table with 64 entries. The codons specify which amino acid will be added next during protein biosynthesis. With some exceptions, a three-nucleotide codon in a nucleic acid sequence specifies a single amino acid. The vast majority of genes are encoded with a single scheme (see the RNA codon table). That scheme is often referred to as the canonical or standard genetic code, or simply ''the'' genetic code, though variant codes (such as in mitochondria) exist. History Effor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, responding to stimuli, providing structure to cells and organisms, and transporting molecules from one location to another. Proteins differ from one another primarily in their sequence of amino acids, which is dictated by the nucleotide sequence of their genes, and which usually results in protein folding into a specific 3D structure that determines its activity. A linear chain of amino acid residues is called a polypeptide. A protein contains at least one long polypeptide. Short polypeptides, containing less than 20–30 residues, are rarely considered to be proteins and are commonly called peptides. The individual amino acid residues are bonded together by peptide bonds and adjacent amino acid residues. The sequence of amino acid residue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Three-domain System
The three-domain system is a biological classification introduced by Carl Woese, Otto Kandler, and Mark Wheelis in 1990 that divides cellular life forms into three domains, namely Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukaryota or Eukarya. The key difference from earlier classifications such as the two-empire system and the five-kingdom classification is the splitting of archaea from bacteria as completely different organism. It has been challenged by the two-domain system that divides organisms into Bacteria and Archaea only, as eukaryotes are considered as one group of archaea. Background Woese argued, on the basis of differences in 16S rRNA genes, that bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes each arose separately from an ancestor with poorly developed genetic machinery, often called a progenote. To reflect these primary lines of descent, he treated each as a domain, divided into several different kingdom (biology), kingdoms. Originally his split of the prokaryotes was into ''Eubacteria'' (now ''B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antioxidant
Antioxidants are compounds that inhibit oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals. This can lead to polymerization and other chain reactions. They are frequently added to industrial products, such as fuels and lubricants, to prevent oxidation, and to foods to prevent spoilage, in particular the rancidification of oils and fats. In cells, antioxidants such as glutathione, mycothiol or bacillithiol, and enzyme systems like superoxide dismutase, can prevent damage from oxidative stress. The only dietary antioxidants are vitamins A, C, and E, but the term ''antioxidant'' has also been applied to numerous other dietary compounds that only have antioxidant properties in vitro, with little evidence for antioxidant properties in vivo. Dietary supplements marketed as antioxidants have not been shown to maintain health or prevent disease in humans. History As part of their adaptation from marine life, terrestrial plants began producing non-marine antioxi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reduction Potential
Redox potential (also known as oxidation / reduction potential, ''ORP'', ''pe'', ''E_'', or E_) is a measure of the tendency of a chemical species to acquire electrons from or lose electrons to an electrode and thereby be reduced or oxidised respectively. Redox potential is expressed in volts (V). Each species has its own intrinsic redox potential; for example, the more positive the reduction potential (reduction potential is more often used due to general formalism in electrochemistry), the greater the species' affinity for electrons and tendency to be reduced. Measurement and interpretation In aqueous solutions, redox potential is a measure of the tendency of the solution to either gain or lose electrons when it is subjected to change by introduction of a new species. A solution with a higher (more positive) reduction potential than the new species will have a tendency to gain electrons from the new species (i.e. to be reduced by oxidizing the new species) and a solution with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Journal Of Chemical Sciences
The ''Journal of Chemical Sciences'' is a monthly peer-viewed scientific journal that publishes original research articles, rapid communications, reviews and perspective articles, covering many areas of Chemical Sciences. It also publishes special issues on frontier areas of the subject. It is published by the Indian Academy of Sciences and co-published by Springer. The editor-in-chief is S. Natarajan (Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru). History Originally a part of the ''Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences – Section A'', started in 1934, the journal evolved into an independent journal titled ''Proceedings – Chemical Sciences'' in 1978. It was retitled ''Journal of Chemical Sciences'' in 2004. Abstracting and indexing The journal is abstracted and indexed in: According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the journal has a 2020 impact factor The impact factor (IF) or journal impact factor (JIF) of an academic journal is a scientometric index calculate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Selenoprotein
In molecular biology a selenoprotein is any protein that includes a selenocysteine (Sec, U, Se-Cys) amino acid residue. Among functionally characterized selenoproteins are five glutathione peroxidases (GPX) and three thioredoxin reductases, (TrxR/TXNRD) which both contain only one Sec. Selenoprotein P is the most common selenoprotein found in the plasma. It is unusual because in humans it contains 10 Sec residues, which are split into two domains, a longer N-terminal domain that contains 1 Sec, and a shorter C-terminal domain that contains 9 Sec. The longer N-terminal domain is likely an enzymatic domain, and the shorter C-terminal domain is likely a means of safely transporting the very reactive selenium atom throughout the body. Species distribution Selenoproteins exist in all major domains of life, eukaryotes, bacteria and archaea. Among eukaryotes, selenoproteins appear to be common in animals, but rare or absent in other phyla -one has been identified in the green alga ''C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glyceraldehyde
Glyceraldehyde (glyceral) is a triose monosaccharide with chemical formula C3 H6 O3. It is the simplest of all common aldoses. It is a sweet, colorless, crystalline solid that is an intermediate compound in carbohydrate metabolism. The word comes from combining glycerol and aldehyde, as glyceraldehyde is glycerol with one alcohol group oxidized to an aldehyde. Structure Glyceraldehyde has one chiral center and therefore exists as two different enantiomers with opposite optical rotation: * In the nomenclature, either from Latin ''Dexter'' meaning "right", or from Latin ''Laevo'' meaning "left" * In the R/S nomenclature, either R from Latin ''Rectus'' meaning "right", or S from Latin ''Sinister'' meaning "left" While the optical rotation of glyceraldehyde is (+) for ''R'' and (−) for ''S'', this is not true for all monosaccharides. The stereochemical configuration can only be determined from the chemical structure, whereas the optical rotation can only be determined em ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chirality
Chirality is a property of asymmetry important in several branches of science. The word ''chirality'' is derived from the Greek (''kheir''), "hand", a familiar chiral object. An object or a system is ''chiral'' if it is distinguishable from its mirror image; that is, it cannot be superimposed onto it. Conversely, a mirror image of an ''achiral'' object, such as a sphere, cannot be distinguished from the object. A chiral object and its mirror image are called ''enantiomorphs'' (Greek, "opposite forms") or, when referring to molecules, '' enantiomers''. A non-chiral object is called ''achiral'' (sometimes also ''amphichiral'') and can be superposed on its mirror image. The term was first used by Lord Kelvin in 1893 in the second Robert Boyle Lecture at the Oxford University Junior Scientific Club which was published in 1894: Human hands are perhaps the most recognized example of chirality. The left hand is a non-superimposable mirror image of the right hand; no matter ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Selenol
Selenols are organic compounds that contain the functional group with the connectivity C–Selenium, Se–H. Selenols are sometimes also called selenomercaptans and selenothiols. Selenols are one of the principal classes of organoselenium compounds. The best known member of the group is the amino acid selenocysteine. Structure, bonding, properties Selenols are structurally similar to thiols, but the C-Se bond is about 8% longer at 196 pm. The C–Se–H angle approaches 90°. The bonding involves almost pure p-orbitals on Se, hence the near 90 angles. The Se–H bond energy is weaker than the S–H bond, consequently selenols are easily oxidized and serve as H-atom donors. The Se-H bond is much weaker than the S-H bond as reflected in their respective bond dissociation energy (BDE). For C6H5Se-H, the BDE is 326 kJ/mol, while for C6H5S-H, the BDE is 368 kJ/mol. Selenol acids are about 1000 times stronger than thiols: the p''K''a of CH3SeH is 5.2 vs 8.3 for CH3SH. Deprotonation affo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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