Amino acid fermentation at the origin of the genetic code

Biology Direct

Table 1 Amino acids involved in Stickland fermentation in Clostridium spp.

e^- Donors (reductants)	e^- Acceptors (oxidants)	Donors or acceptors (depending on partners)
Alanine * [39, 70]	Glycine * [39, 42, 70]	Leucine*
Valine * [39]	Aspartic acid ^• [9]	Phenylalanine* [9]
Serine* [8, 30, 42]	Proline^• [70]	Tyrosine* [9]
Isoleuine* [30]		Tryptophan* [9]
Threonine^• [8]		Arginine^• [9]
Glutamic acid^• [8]
Histidine* [8]
Cysteine
Methionine
Lysine

The underlined compounds are those abiotically synthesised, and the italicised items are the ones included in the "primordial" cycle, Figure 7D. Amino acids marked with '*' are synthesised via the glycolitic (including the pentose phosphate) pathway, and those marked with '•' are synthesised via the citric acid cycle (either oxaloacetate or α-ketoglutarate).

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