Changes: Cysteine

Revision as of 08:52, 25 July 2008

Cysteine (C) is a hydrophobic Amino acid. Its shape on Foldit is identical to that of Serine; however, Serine is hydrophilic and can be distinguished by its color.

Cysteine can form a covalent bond with another Cysteine in a different part of the molecule (or even to a Cysteine in a different subunit of the same protein). These bonds are termed Disulfide Bridges; they help to stabilize proteins, especially those secreted from cells. The presence of a pair of Cysteines in a protein indicates the possibility (but not the requirement) of a Disulfide Bridge.

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 [[Image:Cysteine_C.jpg|frame|Foldit's version of Cysteine]]
-Cysteine (C) is a hydrophobic amino acid.  Its shape on Foldit is identical to that of [[Serine]]; however, Serine is hydrophilic and can be distinguished by its color.
+Cysteine (C) is a hydrophobic [[Amino acid]].  Its shape on Foldit is identical to that of [[Serine]]; however, Serine is hydrophilic and can be distinguished by its color.
 Cysteine can form a covalent bond with another Cysteine in a different part of the molecule (or even to a Cysteine in a different subunit of the same protein).  These bonds are termed Disulfide Bridges; they help to stabilize proteins, especially those secreted from cells.  The presence of a pair of Cysteines in a protein indicates the possibility (but not the requirement) of a Disulfide Bridge.