Nitrogen And Amino Acid Metabolism - #35 BB350 K. Ahern

Details on Rubisco

Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate + O2 - intermediates - Phosphoglycerate to Glyoxylate via intermediates. A poisonous substance. Plants have useful gyloxylate cycle.

Nitrogen Metabolism

Balancing nitrogen metabolism important. Our body is dependent on other organisms for nitrogen binding. Nitrogen fixation organisms relatively low in number: soil bacteria in legumes and other plants. Polluting these bacteria will kill us. As important as photosynthetic bacteria.

Nitrogen Reductase

Atmospheric nitrogen fixed into ammonium ions via Dinitrogenase enzyme N2 using ATP into P, ADP, result 2NH4 + H2.

Nitrogen as NH4 is in some ways a limiting nutrient. Travels through our cells mainly as amino acids, swapping amine groups from one to another, to make proteins.

Glutamine

Glutamine has important properties: 2 amine groups, r-group on its carboxyamide and alfa group. These amine groups can be swapped on and off. Glutamate has carboxyl, glutamine carboxyamide, replacing double bonded oxygen with an amine group. Transamination. Glutamine 2 amines, glutamate 1 amine.

Glutamate + amine group = glutamine. Glutamine passing its amine group = alfa-keto-glutarate, which has 0 amines. Citric acid cycle.