Ch.23 - Organic and Biological Chemistry
Chapter 23, Problem 118
Use the three-letter abbreviations to name all tripeptides containing methionine, isoleucine, and lysine.

1
Step 1: Identify the three-letter abbreviations for each of the amino acids involved. Methionine is abbreviated as 'Met', isoleucine as 'Ile', and lysine as 'Lys'.
Step 2: Understand that a tripeptide is a peptide consisting of three amino acids linked by peptide bonds. The order of these amino acids matters, as it determines the identity of the tripeptide.
Step 3: List all possible permutations of the three amino acids. Since there are three different amino acids, there are 3! (3 factorial) possible permutations, which equals 6.
Step 4: Write down each permutation using the three-letter abbreviations. The possible tripeptides are: Met-Ile-Lys, Met-Lys-Ile, Ile-Met-Lys, Ile-Lys-Met, Lys-Met-Ile, and Lys-Ile-Met.
Step 5: Verify that all permutations are unique and correctly represent different sequences of the amino acids. Each sequence corresponds to a distinct tripeptide.
Key Concepts
Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.
Amino Acids and Their Abbreviations
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins, and each has a specific three-letter abbreviation. Methionine (Met), Isoleucine (Ile), and Lysine (Lys) are essential amino acids that play critical roles in protein synthesis and metabolism. Understanding these abbreviations is crucial for naming peptides accurately.
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Peptide Formation
Peptides are formed by the linkage of amino acids through peptide bonds, which occur between the carboxyl group of one amino acid and the amino group of another. In the case of tripeptides, three amino acids are combined in a specific sequence, and the order of these amino acids affects the peptide's properties and function.
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Permutations of Amino Acids
When naming tripeptides, the order of amino acids matters, as different sequences can lead to different peptides. For methionine, isoleucine, and lysine, the total number of unique tripeptides can be calculated using permutations, considering that the same amino acids can appear in different orders, resulting in distinct tripeptide names.
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