New membrane to make fresh water

Scientists at Sandia National Laboratories and their collaborators have developed a new membrane, whose structure was inspired by a protein from algae, for electrodialysis that could be used to provide fresh water for farming ...

Scientists nail down important plant compound pathway

Purdue University plant molecular biochemist Natalia Dudareva and colleagues have described a complete second pathway used by plants to produce phenylalanine, a compound important for all living organisms.

Fundamental plant chemicals trace back to bacteria

A fundamental chemical pathway that all plants use to create an essential amino acid needed by all animals to make proteins has now been traced to two groups of ancient bacteria. The pathway is also known for making hundreds ...

Second plant pathway could improve nutrition, biofuel production

Purdue University scientists have defined a hidden second option plants have for making an essential amino acid that could be the first step in boosting plants' nutritional value and improving biofuel production potential.

page 1 from 2

Phenylalanine

Phenylalanine (abbreviated as Phe or F) is an α-amino acid with the formula C6H5CH2CH(NH2)COOH. This essential amino acid is classified as nonpolar because of the hydrophobic nature of the benzyl side chain. L-Phenylalanine (LPA) is an electrically neutral amino acid, one of the twenty common amino acids used to biochemically form proteins, coded for by DNA. The codons for L-phenylalanine are UUU and UUC. Phenylalanine is a precursor for tyrosine, the monoamine signaling molecules dopamine, norepinephrine (noradrenaline), and epinephrine (adrenaline), and the skin pigment melanin.

Phenylalanine is found naturally in the breast milk of mammals. It is used in the manufacture of food and drink products and sold as a nutritional supplement for its reputed analgesic and antidepressant effects. It is a direct precursor to the neuromodulator phenylethylamine, a commonly used dietary supplement.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA