Amino Acid Abbreviations Flashcards
While we all know that the MCAT involves much more than just memorization, remembering the amino acid abbreviations is crucial. Review them here until you have them down!
Fill in the blank.
The amino acid abbreviated Glu is ___________ ______.
glutamic acid
Be careful with this one! It’s easy to confuse with glutamine (Gln).
What is the three-letter abbreviation for tryptophan?
Trp
Fill in the blank.
The amino acid abbreviated Asn is __________.
asparagine
Be careful with this one! It’s easy to confuse with aspartic acid (Asp).
What is the three-letter abbreviation for arginine?
Arg
What is the three-letter abbreviation for isoleucine?
Ile
What is the three-letter abbreviation for aspartic acid?
Asp
Name the four amino acids that have three-letter abbreviations that are not identical to the first three letters of the amino acid.
- Asparagine (Asn)
- Glutamine (Gln)
- Isoleucine (Ile)
- Tryptophan (Trp)
Fill in the blank.
_________ is abbreviated Gln, while _________ is abbreviated Gly.
Glutamine, Glycine
Be careful with these extremely similar abbreviations! It can be helpful to recall that glycine is the structurally simplest amino acid, meaning that it “takes priority” in terms of being abbreviated with the first three letters of its name. Glutamine cannot be abbreviated “Glu” because that abbreviation was already taken by glutamic acid.
Name the one-letter abbreviation for:
arginine
R
You can recall this abbreviation by saying “arginine” in a pirate voice (“arrrr-ginine”).
Name the one-letter abbreviation for:
cysteine
C
Since cysteine is the only amino acid that begins with the letter C, it gets its first letter as its abbreviation.
Name the one-letter abbreviation for:
histidine
H
Since histidine is the only amino acid that begins with the letter H, it gets its first letter as its abbreviation.
Name the one-letter abbreviation for:
glutamine
Q
One common way to remember this abbreviation is to imagine the word “glutamine” as “Q-tamine.”
Name the one-letter abbreviation for:
tryptophan
W
Tryptophan, an amino acid with a complex double-ring structure, has an abbreviation of W.
Name the one-letter abbreviation for:
leucine
L
Be careful not to confuse this one with lysine (K)!
Name the one-letter abbreviation for:
asparagine
N
Since A, S, P, R, G, and I were already taken (whew!), asparagine is given a one-letter abbreviation of N.
Name the one-letter abbreviation for:
tyrosine
Y
Since T was already taken by threonine, tyrosine is given an abbreviation of Y, which can be remembered because of the strong “Y” sound in “tyrosine.”
Name the one-letter abbreviation for:
proline
P
Proline gets its first letter, P, as its abbreviation. (The only other amino acid starting with “P” is phenylalanine, which is abbreviated F.)
Name the one-letter abbreviation for:
glycine
G
The simplest amino acid, glycine, takes on its first letter as its one-letter abbreviation.
Name the one-letter abbreviation for:
phenylalanine
F
Since P was already taken by proline, phenylalanine gets an abbreviation that matches the sound of its first syllable (F), rather than its first letter.
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Name the one-letter abbreviation for:
serine
S
Serine, the only amino acid to begin with the letter “S,” predictably gets that letter as its one-letter abbreviation.
Name the one-letter abbreviation for:
isoleucine
I
This one is easy, since no other amino acid starts with the letter “I”!
Name the one-letter abbreviation for:
glutamic acid
E
For this one, it can help to remember that the other acidic amino acid, aspartic acid, has an abbreviation only one letter earlier in the alphabet: D.
Name the one-letter abbreviation for:
methionine
M
As the only amino acid starting with the letter M, methionine’s one-letter abbreviation is relatively easy to recall.
