The enzyme aspartate ammonia-lyase (EC 4.3.1.1)
catalyzes the
chemical reaction
A chemical reaction is a process that leads to the IUPAC nomenclature for organic transformations, chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Classically, chemical reactions encompass changes that only involve the pos ...
:
L-aspartate
fumarate + NH
3
The reaction is the basis of the industrial synthesis of aspartate.
This enzyme belongs to the family of
lyase
In biochemistry, a lyase is an enzyme that catalyzes the breaking (an elimination reaction) of various chemical bonds by means other than hydrolysis (a substitution reaction) and oxidation, often forming a new double bond or a new ring structure. ...
s, specifically ammonia lyases, which cleave carbon-nitrogen bonds. The
systematic name A systematic name is a name given in a systematic way to one unique group, organism, object or chemical substance, out of a specific population or collection. Systematic names are usually part of a nomenclature.
A semisystematic name or semitrivial ...
of this enzyme class is
L-aspartate ammonia-lyase (fumarate-forming). Other names in common use include aspartase, fumaric aminase,
L-aspartase, and
L-aspartate ammonia-lyase. This enzyme participates in
alanine
Alanine (symbol Ala or A), or α-alanine, is an α-amino acid that is used in the biosynthesis of proteins. It contains an amine group and a carboxylic acid group, both attached to the central carbon atom which also carries a methyl group side c ...
and
aspartate metabolism and
nitrogen metabolism.
Structural studies
As of late 2007, two
structures
A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...
have been solved for this class of enzymes, with
PDB accession codes and .
References
*
EC 4.3.1
Enzymes of known structure
{{lyase-stub