noun[mass noun] Biochemistry
A hydrophilic amino acid which is a constituent of most proteins. It is an essential nutrient in the diet of vertebrates.
- The essential amino acids are histidine, tryptophan, threonine, valine, phenylalanine, leucine, methionine, lysine, and isoleusine.
- The aspartate can be used as a precursor for the synthesis of other amino acids such as asparagine, threonine, isoleucine, leucine, valine, lysine, and methionine.
- Nitrogen limitation in plants could explain the use of the polar amino acids serine and threonine instead of nitrogen-containing asparagine as in P. falciparum.
1930s: from threose (the name of a tetrose sugar) + -ine4.
For editors and proofreaders
Line breaks: threo|nine
Definition of threonine in:
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