signal sequence (signal peptide)

Introduction

The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) signal sequence of proteins destined for the secretory pathway marks proteins for translocation across the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. These signal sequences are generally at the N-terminus & absent from the mature proteins because they are cleaved by a signal peptidase within the lumenal side of the ER. They range in size from 13-36 amino acid residues.

More general terms

• peptide motif
• polypeptide sequence