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Phenylalanine is a precursor for tyrosine, the monoamine neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine (noradrenaline), and epinephrine (adrenaline), and the biological pigment melanin. It is encoded by the messenger RNA codons UUU and UUC. Phenylalanine is found naturally in the milk of mammals.
In addition to the common amino acid L-tyrosine, which is the para isomer (para-tyr, p-tyr or 4-hydroxyphenylalanine), there are two additional regioisomers, namely meta-tyrosine (also known as 3-hydroxyphenylalanine, L-m-tyrosine, and m-tyr) and ortho-tyrosine (o-tyr or 2-hydroxyphenylalanine), that occur in nature.
In plants, all phenylpropanoids are derived from the amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine. Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL, a.k.a. phenylalanine/tyrosine ammonia-lyase) is an enzyme that transforms L-phenylalanine and tyrosine into trans-cinnamic acid and p-coumaric acid, respectively.
In plants, the shikimate pathway first leads to the formation of chorismate, which is the precursor of phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan.These aromatic amino acids are the precursors of many secondary metabolites, all essential to a plant's biological functions, such as the hormones salicylate and auxin.
The shikimate pathway (shikimic acid pathway) is a seven-step metabolic pathway used by bacteria, archaea, fungi, algae, some protozoans, and plants for the biosynthesis of folates and aromatic amino acids (tryptophan, phenylalanine, and tyrosine). This pathway is not found in mammals.
Phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) (EC 1.14.16.1) is an enzyme that catalyzes the hydroxylation of the aromatic side-chain of phenylalanine to generate tyrosine.PAH is one of three members of the biopterin-dependent aromatic amino acid hydroxylases, a class of monooxygenase that uses tetrahydrobiopterin (BH 4, a pteridine cofactor) and a non-heme iron for catalysis.
Fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase (FAH) is a protein homodimer which cleaves fumarylacetoacetate at its carbon-carbon bond during a hydrolysis reaction. [8] As a critical enzyme in phenylalanine and tyrosine metabolism, 4-Fumarylacetoacetate hydrolase catalyzes the final step in the catabolism of 4-fumarylacetoacetate and water into acetoacetate, fumarate, and H + respectively. [9]
4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvic acid (4-HPPA) is an intermediate in the metabolism of the amino acid phenylalanine. The aromatic side chain of phenylalanine is hydroxylated by the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase to form tyrosine. The conversion from tyrosine to 4-HPPA is in turn catalyzed by tyrosine aminotransferase. [2]