selenocysteine

(noun)

A naturally-occurring amino acid, present in several enzymes, whose structure is that of cysteine but with the sulfur atom replaced by one of selenium.

Related Terms

Examples of selenocysteine in the following topics:

  • Amino Acid Synthesis

    • Selenocysteine and pyrrolysine are not encoded by the universal genetic code.
    • The remaining two, selenocysteine and pyrrolysine, are incorporated into proteins by unique synthetic mechanisms.
    • Selenocysteine is incorporated when the mRNA being translated includes a SECIS element, which causes the UGA codon to encode selenocysteine instead of a stop codon.