hydroxy-amino acid
- noun
- /haɪˈdrɒksi əˈmiːnoʊ ˈæsɪd/
- Specialized
- Serine is a common hydroxy-amino acid found in many proteins.
Examples
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Threonine and serine are examples of hydroxy-amino acids important in metabolism.
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The structure of a hydroxy-amino acid includes both an amino group and a hydroxy group.
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A hydroxy-amino acid is essential for health.
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The hydroxy-amino acid enhances muscle recovery.
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Serine is a common hydroxy-amino acid that plays a vital role in protein synthesis.
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Threonine is another important hydroxy-amino acid essential for various metabolic processes.
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The hydroxy-amino acid known as serine is often found in nutrient-rich foods like soy and eggs.
Synonyms
A kind of amino acid that has an OH group on its side, like serine or threonine
Surface Forms
Morphology
hydroxy-amino + acid
The phrase is compositionally built from chemical morphemes (hydroxy- + amino + acid), so its meaning — an amino acid bearing a hydroxy group on its side chain — follows directly from the parts for anyone who recognises those affixes. However, these are specialised scientific morphemes that a typical B1 learner is unlikely to know, so the term is only partially transparent to average learners without domain knowledge.
Etymology
Hydroxy-amino acid is a name that describes what the molecule has. hydroxy points to a small 'OH' water-like part on the side of the amino acid, and amino points to the 'NH2' part, so the name literally means 'an amino acid with a hydroxy group'.