serine

noun

ser·​ine ˈser-ˌēn How to pronounce serine (audio)
: a crystalline nonessential amino acid C3H7NO3 that occurs as a residue in many proteins

Examples of serine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
But their relative levels remained consistent before and after the chunks were plunged into the asteroid simulation—there was always more glycine than serine, and more serine than alanine. WIRED, 31 Jan. 2023 Many types of cancer cells grew more slowly when deprived of two related amino acids, serine and glycine, and deleting p53 ramped up that effect. Jocelyn Kaiser, Science | AAAS, 1 Apr. 2021 The amount of glycine and serine, for example, both doubled. WIRED, 31 Jan. 2023 Hyaluronidases and serine proteases aid in the efforts, and the helpless tissue succumbs to the venom's siege. Christie Wilcox, Discover Magazine, 19 Apr. 2016 Repeats with a lot of proline, threonine and serine transform a typical protein to a mucin because of the polypeptide structure that is formed. Coren Walters-Stewart, Discover Magazine, 18 Oct. 2022 This compound was the first ingredient of the pheromone cocktail discovered: a chemical called N-3-methylbutanoyl-O-methylpropanoyl-L-serine methyl ester, or MB-MP-S. Lesley Evans Ogden, Discover Magazine, 19 Aug. 2019 Looking at the ingredient list, serine and biotin appear towards the beginning, meaning the formula has it in higher concentrations. Jihan Forbes, Allure, 31 Jan. 2022 This insertion added the peptide GLTSKRN (glycine-leucine-threonine-serine-lysine-arginine-asparagine) between Spike protein positions 214 and 215. William A. Haseltine, Forbes, 28 Sep. 2021

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary sericin + -ine entry 2

First Known Use

1880, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of serine was in 1880

Dictionary Entries Near serine

Cite this Entry

“Serine.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/serine. Accessed 19 Nov. 2024.

Medical Definition

serine

noun
ser·​ine ˈse(ə)r-ˌēn How to pronounce serine (audio)
: a nonessential amino acid C3H7NO3 that occurs especially as a structural part of many proteins and phosphatidylethanolamines and is a precursor of glycine
abbreviation Ser

More from Merriam-Webster on serine

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!