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First teaching 2023

First exams 2025

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Amino Acid Diversity (HL) (HL IB Biology)

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Cara Head

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Cara Head

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Amino Acid Diversity

  • The same 20 amino acids make up most of the proteins found on Earth
  • Around 500 amino acids have been found in nature, but only 20 are commonly found in proteins
  • Eleven of these can be naturally synthesised within cells by humans
  • The other nine amino acids are essential (have to be in the human diet)
  • You don't need to remember the names of the amino acids, but it's useful to see their names, which are usually abbreviated to three letters
    • Ala, Arg, Asn, Asp, Cys, Gln, Glu, Gly, His*, Ile*, Leu*, Lys*, Met*, Phe*, Pro, Ser, Thr*, Trp*, Tyr, Val*
    • *  indicates the essential amino acids
  • Because the R groups vary so much between the 20 amino acids, there is a lot of chemical diversity between the amino acids

Amino acid diversity diagram

Primary structure, downloadable AS & A Level Biology revision notes

An amino acid sequence of a short polypeptide. The three-letter abbreviations indicate the specific amino acid (there are 20 commonly found in cells of living organisms).

R-groups

  • An R-group, or variable group, is how each amino acid differs and why amino acid properties differ e.g. whether they are acidic or basic, or whether they are polar or non-polar
  • The R-group can be as simple as another hydrogen atom (forming the amino acid glycine), right through to complex aromatic ring structures (which forms phenylalanine)
  • It is the R-group that gives the basis of diversity in protein function and form
  • This occurs because: 
    • All amino acids have a the same carboxyl and amine group, bonded by a central carbon atom, which ionise when in a neutral environment
      • The carboxyl group donates a hydrogen ion whilst the amine group accepts it so that the carboxyl group is left with a negative charge and the amine group left with a positive charge
    • The R-group is either hydrophobic or hydrophilic
      • Hydrophilic R-groups are polar and can be either acidic or basic
      • Hydrophobic R-groups are non-polar

R-Group Diagram

Nitrogen Compounds - Different Types of Amino AcidsThe variety of R-groups of the amino acids determine the properties of polypeptide chains and therefore overall protein

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Cara Head

Author: Cara Head

Expertise: Biology

Cara graduated from the University of Exeter in 2005 with a degree in Biological Sciences. She has fifteen years of experience teaching the Sciences at KS3 to KS5, and Psychology at A-Level. Cara has taught in a range of secondary schools across the South West of England before joining the team at SME. Cara is passionate about Biology and creating resources that bring the subject alive and deepen students' understanding