Amino-acid requirements of amylase synthesis by pigeon-pancreas slices

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Abstract
Of the 16 amino acids found in crystalline alpha-amylase 10 were found necessary and also sufficient for max. synthesis of the enzyme by pigeon pancreas slices. These were: tryptophan, arginine, threonine, valine, tyrosine, lysine, leucine, histidine, isoleucine and phenylalanine. They included every essential amino acid present in crystalline alpha-amylase, and one non-essential amino acid, i.e. tyrosine. In the synthesis of amylase, tryptophan, tyrosine, valine and leucine could be replaced 80-100% by their respective ketonic acids. The origin of the non-essential amino-acids was discussed. Glutamate plus glutamine comprised about 50% of the total free amino N of pigeon pancreas. These compounds by transamination of intermediates of carbohydrate metabolism might have given rise to aspartic acid and aianine.