Polypeptide

Definition

A polypeptide is a long chain of amino acids linked together by peptide bonds, which forms part of the structure of proteins. It is created during protein synthesis when the cellular machinery reads the RNA template to assemble the amino acid sequence.

Related terms

Amino Acid: The building block of proteins, consisting of a central carbon atom bonded to an amino group, a carboxyl group, and a variable side chain.

Peptide Bond: A covalent chemical bond linking two consecutive amino acid monomers along a peptide or protein chain.

Protein Synthesis: The process by which cells build proteins based on the sequence of nucleotides in messenger RNA, involving transcription and translation stages