How many naturally occurring amino acids are there?

1 Answer
Jul 11, 2017

Twenty two amino acids are naturally incorporated into polypeptides and are called proteinogenic or natural amino acids .

Explanation:

Out of these 20 are encoded by the universal genetic code. These are :

  • Alanine.
  • Arginine.
  • Asparagine.
  • Aspartic acid.
  • Cysteine.
  • Glutamic acid.
  • Glutamine.
  • Glycine.
  • Histidine.
  • Isoleucine.
  • Leucine.
  • Lysine.
  • Methionine.
  • Phenyl alanine.
  • Proline.
  • Serine.
  • Threonine.
  • Tryptophan.
  • Tyrosine.
  • Valine.

Selenocysteine and Pyrrolysine are encoded by unique synthetic mechanisms.