Ubiquitin is a protein of 76 amino acid residues, found in all eukaryotic cells and whose sequence is extremely well conserved from protozoan to vertebrates. Ubiquitin acts through its post-translational attachment (ubiquitinylation) to other proteins, where these modifications alter the function, location or trafficking of the protein, or targets it for destruction by the 26S proteasome.Ubiquitin is a globular protein, the last four C-terminal residues (Leu-Arg-Gly-Gly) extending from the compact structure to form a 'tail', important for its function. The latter is mediated by the covalent conjugation of ubiquitin to target proteins, by an isopeptide linkage between the C-terminal glycine and the epsilon amino group of lysine residues in the target proteins.Ubiquitin is expressed as three different precursors: a polymeric head-to-tail concatemer of identical units (polyubiquitin), and two N-terminal ubiquitin moieties, UbL40 and UbS27, that are fused to the ribosomal polypeptides L40 and S27, respectively. Specific endopeptidases cleave these precursor molecules to release ubiquitin moieties that are identical in sequence and contribute to the ubiquitin pool. Some organisms express additional ubiquitin fusion proteins. Furthermore, there are several ubiquitin-like proteins derived from ubiquitin.This entry represents a domain characteristic of ubiquitin (Ub) and ubiquitin-like (Ubl) proteins such as SUMO and Nedd8.