Alanine

Alanine (abbreviated as Ala or A)Nomenclature and symbolism for amino acids and peptides. IUPAC-IUB Recommendations 1983. Pure Appl. Chem. 56 (5), 1984: 595–624. is an α-amino acid. It has the chemical formula CH3CH(NH2)COOH. 

The L-isomer is one of the 20 amino acids encoded by the genetic code. Its codons are GCU, GCC, GCA, and GCG. It is classified as a non-polar amino acid.Non-polar: electrons shared so that there is no difference in electric charge between different parts of the molecule.  

L-Alanine accounts for 7.8% of the primary structure in a sample of 1,150 proteins.Primary structure:  the exact specification of its atomic structure and its chemical bonds. Leucine is the only amino acid which is more common. 

D-Alanine occurs in bacterial cell walls and in some peptide antibiotics.

 References 

Category:Amino acids