Molecular biology

Molecular biology

Industry: Biology

Add a new term

Contributors in Molecular biology

Become a Contributors

Molecular biology

hydrophobicity scale

Biology; Biochemistry

A ranking of amino acid residues or side chains according to some quantitative measure of their hydrophobicity, e.g. the free energy of transfer of the side chain from dioxane or an alcohol to water.

digestibility

Biology; Biochemistry

The characteristic of a protein that accounts for its nutritional quality according to how efficiently its digestion delivers its amino acids, especially the essential amino acids, to the individual.

licencing

Biology; Biochemistry

The limiting of replication of the eukaryotic genome to once per cell cycle. The proteins that impose this effect are termed replication licencing factors (RLFs), but their mode of action is unknown.

pKa

Biology; Biochemistry

The negative of the common logarithm of the dissociation constant of an acid; i.e. -logK a , where K a =(H + )(A - )/(HA) for (HA)=(H + )+(A - ).

donor (5') splice site

Biology; Biochemistry

The site on pre-mRNA that corresponds to the 3'-end of an exon and the 5'-end of an intron. The first two bases of the intron at the donor splice site are GU in most cases, but AU in some instances.

beta (β)-barrel

Biology; Biochemistry

A form of supersecondary structure: a structure within a globular protein in which six or more extended polypeptide strands (β-pleated sheets) are arrayed cylindrically to form the staves of a ...

Ramachandran plot

Biology; Biochemistry

A graph that displays calculated energy isotherms for conformations of peptide backbones; phi-angles against psi-angles; energy minima correspond to β-structure, α-helix and the collagen triple ...