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The 20 Essential Amino Acids

Alanine (Ala)

Arginine (Arg)

Asparagine (Asn)

Aspartic Acid (Asp)

Cysteine (Cys)

Glutamic Acid (Glu)

Glutamine (Gln)

Glycine (Gly)

Histidine (His)

Isoleucine (Ile)

Leucine (Leu)

Lysine (Lys)

Methionine (Met)

Phenylalanine (Phe)

Proline (Pro)

Serine (Ser)

Threonine (Thr)

Tryptophan (Trp)

Tyrosine (Tyr)

Valine (Val)

Although DNA carries the code for every aspect of life, it is proteins that carry out the work, whether structurally ; body tissues like muscle, skin and hair are proteins ; or physiologically, in the form of enzymes which carry out body functions, for example the haemoglobin that carries oxygen from the lungs to the cells.

Proteins are long-chain molecules that are intricately folded into 3-dimensional structures. The chain is composed of strings of small and fairly simple molecules called amino acids. The intructions for making proteins are carried by the DNA. In the 1960s the code for translating DNA sequences into protein structures was discovered, following intensive work since Watson and Crick's discovery of the double helical structure of the DNA molecule in 1953.

There are just 20 amino acids coded for by DNA. A few others are modified slightly after the translation process. The possible combinations of these 20 amino acids are almost infinite, and some proteins contain thousands of amino acids, every one of which has to be in the right place along the chain: this precision is achieved by copying the order of the bases in DNA.

To see how the Genetic Code works click here

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