Discovery of novel pathways of microbial arginine biosynthesis

2012

The amino acid L-arginine is an essential component of all living organisms. Its importance resides in the variety of functions that arginine itself, along with some intermediary metabolites involved in its de novo synthesis in the cell. In many prokaryotes, fungi, and plants the de novo biosynthesis of arginine proceeds from glutamate in eight enzymatic steps (Figure 2). The first committed step of this pathway is the N-acetylation of glutamate. Acetylation of the early precursors of arginine distinguishes them from the analogous intermediates in the biosynthesis of proline. Although each and every step of the pathway is essential for its completion, transcarbamylation of ornithine to prod…