The term N cap (N-cap, Ncap) describes an

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha am ...

in a particular position within a

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, respo ...

polypeptide Peptides (, ) are short chains of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. Long chains of amino acids are called proteins. Chains of fewer than twenty amino acids are called oligopeptides, and include dipeptides, tripeptides, and tetrapeptides. A p ...

.{{cite journal, last=Leader, first=DP, author2=Milner-White EJ , title=The structure of the ends of helices in globular proteins, journal=Proteins, year=2011, volume=79, issue=3, pages=1010–1019, doi= 10.1002/prot.22942, pmid=21287629, s2cid=22240314 The N cap residue of an

alpha helix The alpha helix (α-helix) is a common motif in the secondary structure of proteins and is a right hand-helix conformation in which every backbone N−H group hydrogen bonds to the backbone C=O group of the amino acid located four residues e ...

is the first

residue at the

N terminus The N-terminus (also known as the amino-terminus, NH2-terminus, N-terminal end or amine-terminus) is the start of a protein or polypeptide, referring to the free amine group (-NH2) located at the end of a polypeptide. Within a peptide, the amin ...

of the helix. More precisely, it is defined as the first residue (i) whose CO group is

hydrogen-bond In chemistry, a hydrogen bond (or H-bond) is a primarily electrostatic force of attraction between a hydrogen (H) atom which is covalently bound to a more electronegative "donor" atom or group (Dn), and another electronegative atom bearing ...

ed to the NH group of residue i+4 (or sometimes residue i+3). Because of this it is sometimes also described as the residue prior to the helix. Capping motifs are those often found at the N cap.

Asx turn The Asx turn is a structural feature in proteins and polypeptides. It consists of three amino acid residues (labeled i, i+1 and i+2) in which residue i is an aspartate (Asp) or asparagine (Asn) that forms a hydrogen bond from its sidechain CO group ...

ST turn The ST turn is a structural feature in proteins and polypeptides. Each consists of three amino acid residues (labeled ''i'', ''i'' + 1 and ''i'' + 2) in which residue ''i'' is a serine (S) or threonine (T) that forms a hydrogen b ...

s, and

asx motif The Asx motif is a commonly occurring feature in proteins and polypeptides. It consists of four or five amino acid residues with either aspartate or asparagine as the first residue (residue i). It is defined by two internal hydrogen bonds. One is b ...

s are often found at such situations, with the asx or

serine Serine (symbol Ser or S) is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. It contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated − form under biological conditions), a carboxyl group (which is in the deprotonated − form un ...

threonine Threonine (symbol Thr or T) is an amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. It contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated −NH form under biological conditions), a carboxyl group (which is in the deprotonated −COO� ...

residue at the N cap. The

C cap The term C cap (C-cap, Ccap) describes an amino acid in a particular position within a protein or polypeptide.{{cite journal, last=Leader, first=DP, author2=Milner-White EJ , title=The structure of the ends of helices in globular proteins, journal= ...

is the corresponding amino acid residue at the other end of the helix

References

Amino acids