Stephen Misener <MISENERS at QUCDN.QueensU.CA> writes:
>I'm getting my essential and non-essential aa's mixed up...all NON-essential
>amino acids must play some important role, and all essential amino acids
>have no role besides protein synthesis. So can anyone come up with an
>essential amino acid that plays an important biological role besides in
>protein synthesis? ....sorry for the confusion in my last post.
Well alanine, glutamate, and a few others are all central metabolites,
and several are very easily produced via trans amination of TCA and
glycolytic intermediates. Glutamate and aspartate are both involved in
shuttling reduced intermediates across the mitochondrial membrane, but
whether that measn we require them in large amounts I couldn't say.
