Microbiology Professor Sheds Light on The 22ND Amino Acid

The detailed pathway for the biosynthesis of pyrrolysine - the 22nd and latest amino acid to be discovered - has been outlined by Ohio State researchers. Joseph Krzycki is professor of microbiology and senior author of a new study demonstrating that the amino acid, pyrrolysine, is produced by a series of just three chemical reactions with a single precursor – the amino acid lysine. Until now, pyrrolysine remained the only natural amino acid for which there was no established biosynthetic pathway. But Krzycki and colleagues at Ohio State have revealed that pyrrolysine is made by combining two molecules of the canonical amino acid lysine -a surprising finding, given that some portions of its structure suggested to researchers that it might have more complex origins.

Krzycki and his colleagues used mass spectrometry and a series of experiments to discover how cells make the amino acid, a process that until now had been unknown.

The research is published in the March 31 issue of the journal Nature.

Read the Office of Research press release, written by Emily Caldwell, http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/pyrrolysine.htm