Fundamentals / Note 04

Reading a sequence, one residue at a time.

An introduction to reading peptide sequences, N-terminal and C-terminal groups, and chemical modifications in laboratory documentation.

In conventional linear peptide notation, the sequence is read from the N-terminus toward the C-terminus. The N-terminus is the amino end; the C-terminus is the carboxyl end.

A simple example.

Gly–Ala–Ser names glycine, alanine, and serine residues in that order. It is an illustrative sequence, not a recommendation for an experiment. Always check whether the ends or residues have been chemically modified.