Hird F J, Cianciosi S C, McLean R M
Comp Biochem Physiol B. 1986;83(1):179-84. doi: 10.1016/0305-0491(86)90350-0.
The origin and metabolism of the carbon skeletons of the amino acids ornithine and arginine have been investigated in selected animals--an earthworm, an edible mollusc, a starfish, a sea-squirt, a freshwater crustacean and a rat. Only in the rat and microorganisms of sea water was any evidence obtained for the conversion of glutamate (or N-acetylglutamate) to ornithine. Apart from the crustacean, the other animals were able to synthesise the amidine moiety of arginine. All animals were able to hydrolyse (arginase) the amidine moiety from arginine and had the enzymic capacity to convert ornithine to proline. All the animals had some enzymic ability to oxidise proline to pyrroline-5-carboxylic acid. The crustacean (Cherax destructor) was able to conserve the high concentrations of arginine in its tail muscles during fasting. The hypothesis is put forward that, as arginine appears to be an essential amino acid in the diet of this animal, its demonstrated cannibalism is, among other things, a way of supplementing dietary arginine. The results are discussed in relation to the evolution of different phosphagens derived from arginine.
已对特定动物（蚯蚓、食用软体动物、海星、海鞘、淡水甲壳类动物和大鼠）中鸟氨酸和精氨酸碳骨架的来源与代谢进行了研究。仅在大鼠和海水中的微生物中发现了谷氨酸（或N - 乙酰谷氨酸）转化为鸟氨酸的证据。除甲壳类动物外，其他动物都能够合成精氨酸的脒基部分。所有动物都能够从精氨酸水解（精氨酸酶）脒基部分，并且具有将鸟氨酸转化为脯氨酸的酶促能力。所有动物都具有一定的将脯氨酸氧化为吡咯啉 - 5 - 羧酸的酶促能力。甲壳类动物（破坏螯虾）在禁食期间能够在其尾部肌肉中保存高浓度的精氨酸。提出的假设是，由于精氨酸在这种动物的饮食中似乎是必需氨基酸，其表现出的同类相食行为，除其他外，是补充饮食中精氨酸的一种方式。结果结合源自精氨酸的不同磷酸肌酸的进化进行了讨论。
