title: Biosynthesis of coelenterazine in the deep-sea copepod, Metridia pacifica.
abstract: Coelenterazine is an imidazopyrazinone compound (3,7-dihydroimidazopyrazin-3-one structure) that is widely distributed in marine organisms and used as a luciferin for various bioluminescence reactions. We have used electrospray ionization-ion trap-mass spectrometry to investigate whether the deep-sea luminous copepod Metridia pacifica is able to synthesize coelenterazine. By feeding experiments using deuterium labeled amino acids of l-tyrosine and l-phenylalanine, we have shown that coelenterazine can be synthesized from two molecules of l-tyrosine and one molecule of l-phenylalanine in M. pacifica. This is the first demonstration that coelenterazine is biosynthesized from free l-amino acids in a marine organism.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-860, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Oba
authors.forename: Shin-Ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ojika
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Inouye
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D033342:Copepoda / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D007093:Imidazoles / Q000378:metabolism*; D049408:Luminescent Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D010649:Phenylalanine / Q000378:metabolism; D011719:Pyrazines / Q000378:metabolism*; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D007093:Imidazoles; D049408:Luminescent Agents; D011719:Pyrazines; C017144:coelenterazine; D014443:Tyrosine; D010649:Phenylalanine