Ubiquitin
By Mr. Szerminski
Sample 4U CCT
Topics to be discussed
• General info:
- it is a regulatory protein that has
been found in almost all tissues of
eukaryotes
- one of its functions: it directs
protein recycling
- can attach to proteins and label
them for destruction.
- discovery won the Nobel Prize
for chemistry in 2004
• A specific journal
article about new
research: Current
Alzheimer Research,
2010, 7, 549-555
General Info
•
•
•
•
•
protein consists of 76 amino acids
molecular mass of about 8.5 kDa (8 500 g/mol)
key features: C-terminal tail and 7 lysine residues.
human and yeast ubiquitin share 96% sequence identity
one-letter code (lysine residues in bold):
How it Works
• Works by protein post-translational modification (PTM) in
which the carboxylic acid of the terminal glycine from the
di-glycine motif forms an amide bond to the epsilon amine
of the lysine in the modified protein.
From SCH4U organic unit…
Current Research a.k.a. why is this
exciting?
Subtle and complex actions…
Data from my paper
Result Analysis (Conclusions)
In simple language:
Our (humanity’s) understanding the ubiquitin
system is still in its infancy.
Controlling Ubiquitin