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What are all amino acid bonds?

Published in Amino Acid Bonds 2 mins read

Amino acids are linked together primarily by peptide bonds to form proteins. A peptide bond is a specific type of covalent bond formed between the carboxyl group (-COOH) of one amino acid and the amino group (-NH2) of another. This reaction releases a water molecule.

Types of Amino Acid Bonds:

  • Peptide Bonds: The most prevalent bond linking amino acids in a polypeptide chain. These are strong covalent bonds responsible for the primary structure of proteins. Multiple references confirm this [1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9].

  • Disulfide Bonds: These are covalent bonds formed between two cysteine amino acids. They are stronger than peptide bonds and contribute to the tertiary and quaternary structure of proteins by creating cross-links between different parts of the polypeptide chain or between different polypeptide chains. This is supported by [4, 5].

While other interactions such as hydrogen bonds, ionic bonds, and hydrophobic interactions also contribute to the overall structure of proteins, they are not direct bonds between the amino acids themselves in the same way peptide bonds and disulfide bonds are. These other interactions are weaker than covalent bonds and influence protein folding and stability.

[1] https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/protein-structure-14122136/
[2] https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22243-amino-acids
[3] https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Microbiology/Microbiology_(Boundless)/02%3A_Chemistry/2.05%3A_Organic_Compounds/2.5.04%3A_Amino_Acids
[4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21151463/
[5] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3000107/
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK564343/
[7] https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2015/cs/c5cs00048c
[8] https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/peptide-bond
[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peptide_bond