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Encyclopedia of Astrobiology pp 1Cite as

Disulfide Bond

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Synonyms

SS-bond

Definition

A disulfide bond is a covalent bond between two sulfur atoms (-S-S-) formed by the coupling of two thiol (-SH) groups. Cysteine, one of the 20 protein amino acids, has a thiol group in its side chain and can easily be dimerized to cystine in aqueous solution by forming a disulfide bond. In many protein molecules, disulfide bonds between cysteine residues are essential for protein folding. Disulfide bonds in proteins are cleaved by heating or by the addition of reducing reagents, which leads to protein denaturation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yokohama National University, 240-8501, Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, Japan

    Kensei Kobayashi

Authors
  1. Kensei Kobayashi
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Correspondence to Kensei Kobayashi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Kobayashi, K. (2014). Disulfide Bond. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_449-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_449-4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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