BIOL 363 Kenyon College

Amino Acids on Earth
by Andrew Worthington

Alanine	Abbreviations: Ala, A
OSU Tutorial	Structure from OSU Tutorial

1.  The properties of Alanine are:

• Aliphatic, hydrophobic
• No ionizable R group
• No functional group containing S or N
• Can be found in alpha helix or beta sheet 
• MW: 89 Daltons
• Occurrence in proteins: 9%

2.  A derivative of Alanine would be:

• Muramyl-L-alanine amidase AmiB

3.  An interesting biological or pharmaceutical role of this glycine derivative is:

• This enzyme cleaves amide bonds that link the peptide crossbridges to the muramic acid residues in the glycan strands of the murein netting of E. coli bacteria. This enables the septum to be split during cell division, to allow the 2 daughter cells to separate.

• On planet Tatooine, polyphosphoryl-alanine is an essential organic nutrient, found in Yestamins, organisms similar to our cockroaches. This amino acid is necessary for proper sand excretion in some organisms.