Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • About the Journal
    • General Information
    • Scope
    • Editorial Board
    • Impact & Metrics
    • Benefits of Publishing
    • Advertising/Sponsorship
    • About the Biochemical Society
  • Current Issue
  • For Authors
    • Submit Your Paper
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Editorial Policy
    • Open Access Policy
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Biochemical Society Member Benefits
  • For Librarians
    • Subscriptions and Pricing
    • Check Your Usage
    • Terms and Conditions
      • Biochemical Journal- Terms and Conditions of Usage
    • Open Access Policy
    • FAQs for Librarians
    • Register for Free Trial
  • For Readers
    • Subscribe
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Biochemical Society Member Benefits
    • Journal Access for Biochemical Society Members
    • Request a Free Trial
  • Collections
    • Article Collections
    • Classic Articles
  • Help
    • Technical Support
    • Contact Us
  • Other Publications
    • NEW: Emerging Topics in Life Sciences
    • NEW: Neuronal Signaling
    • Clinical Science
    • Biochemical Journal
    • Biochemical Society Transactions
    • Bioscience Reports
    • Essays in Biochemistry
    • Biochemical Society Symposia
    • Cell Signalling Biology
    • Glossary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
    • The Biochemist
    • Biochemical Society

User menu

  • Log-in
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us

Search

  • Advanced search
  • Other Publications
    • NEW: Emerging Topics in Life Sciences
    • NEW: Neuronal Signaling
    • Clinical Science
    • Biochemical Journal
    • Biochemical Society Transactions
    • Bioscience Reports
    • Essays in Biochemistry
    • Biochemical Society Symposia
    • Cell Signalling Biology
    • Glossary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
    • The Biochemist
    • Biochemical Society

Log-in

Sign-up for alerts  
  • My Cart
Biochemical Journal
Browse Archive
Advanced Search
  • Home
  • About the Journal
    • General Information
    • Scope
    • Editorial Board
    • Impact & Metrics
    • Benefits of Publishing
    • Advertising/Sponsorship
    • About the Biochemical Society
  • Current Issue
  • For Authors
    • Submit Your Paper
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Editorial Policy
    • Open Access Policy
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Biochemical Society Member Benefits
  • For Librarians
    • Subscriptions and Pricing
    • Check Your Usage
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Open Access Policy
    • FAQs for Librarians
    • Register for Free Trial
  • For Readers
    • Subscribe
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Biochemical Society Member Benefits
    • Journal Access for Biochemical Society Members
    • Request a Free Trial
  • Collections
    • Article Collections
    • Classic Articles
  • Help
    • Technical Support
    • Contact Us

Research article

Biosynthesis of ‘essential’ amino acids by scleractinian corals

Lisa M. FITZGERALD, Alina M. SZMANT
Biochemical Journal Feb 15, 1997, 322 (1) 213-221; DOI: 10.1042/bj3220213
Lisa M. FITZGERALD
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Cswy., Miami, FL 33149, U.S.A.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • View author's works on this site
Alina M. SZMANT
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Cswy., Miami, FL 33149, U.S.A.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • View author's works on this site
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Abstract

Animals rely on their diet for amino acids that they are incapable either of synthesizing or of synthesizing in sufficient quantities to meet metabolic needs. These are the so-called ‘essential amino acids’. This set of amino acids is similar among the vertebrates and many of the invertebrates. Previously, no information was available for amino acid synthesis by the most primitive invertebrates, the Cnidaria. The purpose of this study was to examine amino acid synthesis by representative cnidarians within the Order Scleractinia. Three species of zooxanthellate reef coral, Montastraea faveolata, Acropora cervicornis and Porites divaricata, and two species of non-zooxanthellate coral, Tubastrea coccinea and Astrangia poculata, were incubated with 14C-labelled glucose or with the 14C-labelled amino acids glutamic acid, lysine or valine. Radiolabel tracer was followed into protein amino acids. A total of 17 amino acids, including hydroxyproline, were distinguishable by the techniques used. Of these, only threonine was not found radiolabelled in any of the samples. We could not detect tryptophan or cysteine, nor distinguish between the amino acid pairs glutamic acid and glutamine, or aspartic acid and asparagine. Eight amino acids normally considered essential for animals were made by the five corals tested, although some of them were made only in small quantities. These eight amino acids are valine, isoleucine, leucine, tyrosine, phenylalanine histidine, methionine and lysine. The ability of cnidarians to synthesize these amino acids could be yet another indicator of a separate evolutionary history of the cnidarians from the rest of the Metazoa.

  • The Biochemical Society, London © 1997
Previous ArticleNext Article
Back to top

 

 

February 1997

Volume: 322 Issue: 1

Biochemical Journal: 322 (1)
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Index by author
  • Front Matter (PDF)

Actions

Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about Biochemical Journal.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Biosynthesis of ‘essential’ amino acids by scleractinian corals
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Biochemical Journal
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the Biochemical Journal web site.
Share
Biosynthesis of ‘essential’ amino acids by scleractinian corals
Lisa M. FITZGERALD, Alina M. SZMANT
Biochemical Journal Feb 1997, 322 (1) 213-221; DOI: 10.1042/bj3220213
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Technorati logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
Biosynthesis of ‘essential’ amino acids by scleractinian corals
Lisa M. FITZGERALD, Alina M. SZMANT
Biochemical Journal Feb 1997, 322 (1) 213-221; DOI: 10.1042/bj3220213

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Alerts

Please log in to add an alert for this article.

Request Permissions
Save to my folders

View Full PDF

 Open in Utopia Docs
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like

Jump To

  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

Related Articles

Cited By...

  • Portland Press Homepage
  • Publish With Us
  • Advertising
  • Technical Support
  • Biochemical Journal
  • Clinical Science
  • Essays in Biochemistry
  • Emerging Topics in Life Sciences
  • Biochemical Society Transactions
  • Neuronal Signaling
  • Bioscience Reports
  • Cell Signalling Biology
  • Biochemical Society Symposia

Portland Press Limited
Charles Darwin House
12 Roger Street
London WC1N 2JU
Tel: +44(0) 20 7685 2410
Fax: +44(0) 20 7685 2469
Email: editorial@portlandpress.com

The Biochemical Society