α-Ketoglutaric acid is one of two ketone derivatives of glutaric acid. The term "ketoglutaric acid," when not further qualified, almost always refers to the alpha variant. β-Ketoglutaric acid varies only by the position of the ketone functional group, and is much less common.
Nitrogen assimilation is the formation of organic nitrogen compounds like amino acids from inorganic nitrogen compounds present in the environment. Organisms like plants, fungi and certain bacteria that can fix nitrogen gas (N2) depend on the ability to assimilate nitrate or ammonia for their needs. Other organisms, like animals, depend entirely on organic nitrogen from their food.
Glutamate dehydrogenase is an enzyme observed in both prokaryotes and eukaryotic mitochondria. The aforementioned reaction also yields ammonia, which in eukaryotes is canonically processed as a substrate in the urea cycle. Typically, the α-ketoglutarate to glutamate reaction does not occur in mammals, as glutamate dehydrogenase equilibrium favours the production of ammonia and α-ketoglutarate. Glutamate dehydrogenase also has a very low affinity for ammonia, and therefore toxic levels of ammonia would have to be present in the body for the reverse reaction to proceed. However, in brain, the NAD+/NADH ratio in brain mitochondria encourages oxidative deamination. In bacteria, the ammonia is assimilated to amino acids via glutamate and aminotransferases. In plants, the enzyme can work in either direction depending on environment and stress. Transgenic plants expressing microbial GLDHs are improved in tolerance to herbicide, water deficit, and pathogen infections. They are more nutritionally valuable.
In molecular biology, biosynthesis is a multi-step, enzyme-catalyzed process where substrates are converted into more complex products in living organisms. In biosynthesis, simple compounds are modified, converted into other compounds, or joined to form macromolecules. This process often consists of metabolic pathways. Some of these biosynthetic pathways are located within a single cellular organelle, while others involve enzymes that are located within multiple cellular organelles. Examples of these biosynthetic pathways include the production of lipid membrane components and nucleotides. Biosynthesis is usually synonymous with anabolism.
In biochemistry, flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) is a redox-active coenzyme associated with various proteins, which is involved with several enzymatic reactions in metabolism. A flavoprotein is a protein that contains a flavin group, which may be in the form of FAD or flavin mononucleotide (FMN). Many flavoproteins are known: components of the succinate dehydrogenase complex, α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, and a component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex.
Glutamine synthetase (GS) is an enzyme that plays an essential role in the metabolism of nitrogen by catalyzing the condensation of glutamate and ammonia to form glutamine:
Amino acid synthesis is the set of biochemical processes by which the amino acids are produced. The substrates for these processes are various compounds in the organism's diet or growth media. Not all organisms are able to synthesize all amino acids. For example, humans can synthesize 11 of the 20 standard amino acids. These 11 are called the non-essential amino acids).
Guanosine monophosphate synthetase, also known as GMPS is an enzyme that converts xanthosine monophosphate to guanosine monophosphate.
1-Pyrroline-5-carboxylic acid is a cyclic imino acid. Its conjugate base and anion is 1-pyrroline-5-carboxylate (P5C). In solution, P5C is in spontaneous equilibrium with glutamate-5-semialdhyde (GSA).
In enzymology, a GDP-L-fucose synthase (EC 1.1.1.271) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
In enzymology, a N-acetyl-gamma-glutamyl-phosphate reductase (EC 1.2.1.38) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
In enzymology, a ferredoxin-NADP+ reductase (EC 1.18.1.2) abbreviated FNR, is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
In enzymology, a D-nopaline dehydrogenase (EC 1.5.1.19) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
In enzymology, a ferredoxin—nitrite reductase (EC 1.7.7.1) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
In enzymology, a glutamate synthase (ferredoxin) (EC 1.4.7.1) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
In enzymology, a glutamate synthase (NADH) (EC 1.4.1.14) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
In enzymology, a NAD+ synthase (glutamine-hydrolysing) (EC 6.3.5.1) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction
In enzymology, 4-aminobutyrate transaminase, also called GABA transaminase or 4-aminobutyrate aminotransferase, or GABA-T, is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction:
Glutamate synthase is an enzyme and frequently abbreviated as GOGAT. This enzyme manufactures glutamate from glutamine and α-ketoglutarate, and thus along with glutamine synthetase plays a central role in the regulation of nitrogen assimilation in photosynthetic eukaryotes and prokaryotes. This is of great importance as primary productivity in many marine environments is regulated by the availability of inorganic nitrogen.
In enzymology, a prostaglandin-F synthase (PGFS; EC 1.1.1.188) is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction:
