D-amino acids in animal peptides.
D-amino acids have been detected in a variety of peptides synthesized by animal cells. These include opiate and antimicrobial peptides from amphibian skin, neuropeptides from snail ganglia, a hormone from crustaceans, and a constituent of a spider venom. cDNA cloning has shown that at those positions where a D-amino acid is found in the end-product, a normal codon for the corresponding L-amino acid is present. This implies that the D-residues are formed from L-amino acids by a posttranslational reaction. A prototype enzyme catalyzing such a reaction has recently been isolated from the venom of the funnel web spider.
Kreil
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Institute of Molecular Biology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Salzburg, Austria.
D000596:Amino Acids / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D007536:Isomerism; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry*
D000596:Amino Acids; D010455:Peptides