A phosphoprotein is a protein that is posttranslationally modified by the attachment of either a single phosphate group, or a complex molecule such as 5'-phospho-DNA, through a phosphate group. The target amino acid is usually serine, threonine, or tyrosine residues (mostly in eukaryotes), or aspartic acid or histidine residues (mostly in prokaryotes).
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Biological function
The phosphorylation of proteins is a major regulatory mechanism in cells.
Clinical significance
Phosphoproteins have been proposed as biomarkers for breast cancer.
References
Phosphoprotein Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA