a small polypeptide, found in most eukaryotic cells, that combines with other proteins to make them susceptible to degradation
Derived forms
ubiquitination (uˌbiquitiˈnation)
noun
Word origin
C20: from ubiquitous + -in
ubiquitin in American English
(juːˈbɪkwɪtɪn)
noun
a small protein, present in all eukaryotic cells, that participates in the destruction of defective proteins and in the synthesis of new proteins
Word origin
[1985–90; ubiquit(ous) + -in1]This word is first recorded in the period 1985–90. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: DNA fingerprinting, WIMP, antisense, codependent, neural network-in is a suffix, occurring in adjectives of Greek and Latin origin, meaning “pertainingto,” and (in nouns thence derived) also imitated in English (coffin; cousin, etc.). Other words that use the affix -in include: characin, cytolysin, glutenin, pellagrin, typhoidin
Examples of 'ubiquitin' in a sentence
ubiquitin
Proteasomes are large complexes of enzymes that break down intracellular proteins, recognizing them by their ubiquitin molecular tags.
The Scientist (2001)
Given sufficient free ubiquitin, these ligases ubiquitinate gag or nearby proteins in a manner required for budding.
The Scientist (2001)
When a protein bears many ubiquitin molecules, it is targeted for degradation by the proteasome, a huge enzyme complex.