alanine

American  

[al-uh-neen, -nin] / ˈæl əˌnin, -nɪn /

noun

Biochemistry.

1. any of several isomers of a colorless, crystalline, water-soluble amino acid, CH 3 CH(NH2 )COOH, found in many proteins and produced synthetically: used chiefly in biochemical research. Ala; A

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alanine British  

/ ˈæləˌniːn, -ˌnaɪn /

noun

1. a nonessential aliphatic amino acid that occurs in many proteins

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alanine Scientific  

/ ăl′ə-nēn′ /

1. A nonessential amino acid. Chemical formula: C ₃ H ₇ NO ₂ .

2. See more at amino acid

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Etymology

Origin of alanine

1860–65; al(dehyde) + -an- (arbitrarily inserted) + -ine ²

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

alanine

Although cave-dwelling fish all behaved in a stereotypical manner for the strong odorant alanine, the team observed individual differences in the response of both cave and surface-dwelling fish in response to other amino acid odours.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 19, 2023

Amino acids such as valine, methionine, and alanine are nonpolar or hydrophobic in nature, while amino acids such as serine, threonine, and cysteine are polar and have hydrophilic side chains.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

At the top of the list: a slightly elevated level of the liver enzyme alanine aminotransferase, or ALT.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2020

Arcadia Biosciences, based in Davis, California, has taken a gene for an enzyme called alanine amino­transferase from barley and incorporated it into other crops to encourage them to absorb nitrogen before microbes do.

From Nature ● Sep. 18, 2013

Lactic acid and alanine were shown to be oxy- and amino-propionic acids respectively; glycollic acid and glycocoll, oxy- and amino-acetic acids; salicylic and benzamic acids, oxy- and amino-benzoic acids.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 1 "Châtelet" to "Chicago" by Various