Definition
Serine is one of the protein amino acids whose chemical structure is NH2CH(CH2OH)COOH. Its three-letter symbol is Ser, and one-letter symbol is S. Since serine has a hydroxyl (−OH) group in its side chain, it is classified as a polar amino acid. Its molecular weight is 105.09, and its isoelectric point is 5.68. Serine is present in the active sites of many enzymes such as proteases, and is widely distributed in biosphere. Serine, together with glycine, is a predominant amino acid in the hydrolysate of human fingerprints. In the early analyses of carbonaceous chondrites, serine was one of the most abundant amino acids, but later it was found that most of this amino acid detected was a terrestrial contaminant. In recent amino acid analysis of carbonaceous chondrites, a number of indigenous amino acids were detected, but serine was not common among them. Recently serine was identified in Antarctic carbonaceous chondrites.
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© 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Kobayashi, K. (2011). Serine. In: Gargaud, M., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-11274-4_1428
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-11274-4_1428
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-11271-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-11274-4
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