Amino
Acids on Earth
by
Trey Smith
1.
The properties of threonine are:
-
Aliphatic, polar
-
No ionizable R group
-
No functional group containing
S or N
-
Most commonly found in beta
sheets
2.
A derivative of threonine would be:
Fmoc-Thr(tBut)-OH
which is made by addition of a fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl to the amine
substituent of threonine.
3.
An interesting biological or pharmaceutical role of this threonine derivative
is:
-
Fmoc-Thr(tBut)-OHis
used in Fmoc synthesis to produce polypeptides, peptide chains. The Fmoc
substituent serves as a protecting group for the amine. After an
amino acid is bound to threonine Fmoc can be removed with TFA. The peptides
created by Fmoc Synthesis can be used in various ways, i.e. production
of antibiotics.
4.
On a biosphere on a distant planet outside our solar system, a different
but related amino acid is found:
-
On planet Vulcan, muslce fibers
contain an amino acid with a propoxy R-group. The structural function
of this amino acid is similar to that of threonine.
