asparagine

[uh-spar-uh-jeen, -jin]

noun

1. a white, crystalline, amino acid, NH 2 COCH 2 CH(NH2 )COOH, soluble in water, obtained from certain plants, especially legumes, and used chiefly as a nutrient in culture media for certain bacteria. Asn; N

asparagine

/ -dʒɪn, əˈspærəˌdʒiːn /

noun

1. a nonessential amino acid, a component of proteins

asparagine

1. A nonessential amino acid. Chemical formula: C ₄ H ₈ N ₂ O ₃ .

2. See more at amino acid

Word History and Origins

Origin of asparagine¹

From French, dating back to 1805–15; asparagus, -ine ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of asparagine¹

C19: from French, from Latin asparagus _asparagus + _-ine ²

Example Sentences

Non-susceptible species lack lysine at this position, which has a large side chain; macaques instead have asparagine, which contributes to HBV resistance.

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"Mechanistically, we found that this was from low expression of asparagine synthetase, a quality that was distinct from other similar types of leukemia."

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Rothamsted Research this month applied for a permit to field test wheat edited to contain less asparagine, an amino acid that becomes the carcinogen acrylamide when baked.

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And removing asparagine, an amino acid abundant in asparagus, from mouse diets curbed the spread of metastatic breast cancer, suggesting the diet could enhance drug treatments.

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In this way, unlike its obscure co-workers norepinephrine and asparagine, dopamine has become a celebrity molecule.

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