Selenocysteine
Selenocisteína
- Date
- 1974 · confidence high
- Place
- Bethesda, Maryland, United States
- Credited to
- Thressa Stadtman
- Field
- Life & health
What was discovered
At the National Institutes of Health, Stadtman identified selenocysteine as a 21st amino acid that some organisms incorporate directly during protein synthesis, specially encoded from a stop codon. The find expanded the standard twenty-amino-acid genetic code that had been taught since the 1960s.
What it led to
- Expansion of the canonical genetic code
- Study of selenoproteins (glutathione peroxidase and others)
Built on
- Genetic code cracked1961-1966
- Deciphering of the genetic code