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From: winalski@psw.enet.dec.com (Paul S. Winalski)
Newsgroups: sci.bio,bionet.molbio.proteins
Subject: Re: post translational modification: DOPA?
Keywords: DOPA
Message-ID: <1991May2.181551.1479@hollie.rdg.dec.com>
Date: 2 May 91 18:15:51 GMT
References: <eesnyder.673196910@beagle>
Sender: news@hollie.rdg.dec.com (Mr News)
Reply-To: winalski@psw.enet.dec.com (Paul S. Winalski)
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
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In article <eesnyder.673196910@beagle>,
eesnyder@boulder.Colorado.EDU (Eric E. Snyder) writes:
|>
|>I heard an interesting talk last night... just in passing,
|>the speaker mentioned an invertebrate protein containing
|>17% dihydroxyphenylalanine (aka DOPA)!  I couldn't believe
|>this... 
|>
|>Have I been living under a rock for the last 25 yrs?
|>
I guess so.  My early-1970s edition of Lehninger's Biochemistry text discusses
this sort of thing.

|>How common is this protein modification?
|>
Exotic amino acids seem to be quite common in structural proteins, such as
chitin in arthropods and collagen and elastin in vertebrates.

|>Is it post-translational?
|>
Yes.  The amino acid residues are normal phenylalanine after translation.
The modification to DOPA occurs by enzymatic modification of the residues
after the protein is transcribed.

|>Does it occur in vertebrates?
|>
I don't know about this particular case, but the general process
(enzymatic formation of exotic amino acids from normal amino acids after
translation) does occur in vertebrates.

--PSW