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Nonprotein Amino Acids

  • Chapter
Plant Secondary Metabolism

Abstract

Approximately 25–30 amino acids are involved in primary metabolism (Miflin, 1980; Rosenthal and Bell, 1979). Many of these are listed in Fig. 13.1. These primary amino acids usually occur as components of peptides or proteins and are linked by peptide bonds (Fig. 13.1) or free only in small amounts, although, under unusual circumstances, free primary amino acids sometimes accumulate in unusual quantities. Examples are histidine (1) in ripening bananas, arginine (2) in apple trees and some Vicia species, and proline (3) in Caragana wood. A few primary amino acids such as cystine (4) and trans-4-hydroxy-L-proline (5) do not occur in protein but are synthesized secondarily from primary amino acids. The latter of these is found in the cell wall proteins of higher plants.

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  1. Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, USA

    David S. Seigler

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Seigler, D.S. (1998). Nonprotein Amino Acids. In: Plant Secondary Metabolism. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4913-0_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4913-0_13

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