Identification of potent bactericidal compounds produced by escapin, an L-amino acid oxidase in the ink of the sea hare Aplysia californica.

ABSTRACT: The ink of sea hares (Aplysia californica) contains escapin, an L-amino acid oxidase that metabolizes L-lysine, thereby producing a mixture that kills microbes and deters attacking predators. This secretion contains H2O2,ammonia, and an equilibrium mixture of "escapin intermediate product" (EIP-K) that includes alpha-keto-epsilon-aminocaproic acid and several other molecules. Components of the equilibrium mixture react nonenzymatically with H2O2 to form "escapin end product" (EEP-K), which contains delta-aminovaleric acid and delta-valerolactam. The proportions of the molecules in this equilibrium mixture change with pH, and this is biologically important because the secretion is pH 5 when released but becomes pH 8 when fully diluted in seawater. The goal of the current study was to identi

SUBMITTER: Ko KC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2592893 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature