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Methionine
chemical compound
Methionine, sulfur-containing amino acid obtained by the hydrolysis of most common proteins. First isolated from casein (1922), methionine accounts for about 5 percent of the weight of egg albumin; other proteins contain much smaller amounts of methionine. It is one of several so-called essential amino acids for mammals and fowl; i.e., they cannot synthesize it. In microorganisms it is synthesized from the amino acids cysteine and aspartic acid.
Methionine is important in methylation (the process by which methyl, or -CH3, groups are added to compounds) and is also a precursor of two other amino acids, cystine and cysteine. The chemical structure of methionine is
The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Kara Rogers.
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