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Selenocysteine Biosynthesis and the Replacement of Selenocysteine with Cysteine in the Pathway

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Abstract

The biosynthetic pathway of selenocysteine (Sec), the 21st amino acid in the genetic code, has been established in eukaryotes and archaea using comparative genomic and experimental approaches. In addition, cysteine (Cys) was found to arise in place of selenocysteine in thioredoxin reductase (TR) in NIH 3T3 cells and in mice. An analysis of the selenocysteine biosynthetic pathway demonstrated that replacement of selenide with sulfide in generating the active cysteine donor, thiophosphate, resulted in cysteine being donated to the acceptor molecule, which is likely dehydroalanyl-tRNA[Ser]Sec, yielding Cys-tRNA[Ser]Sec. The identification of the pathways for biosynthesis of selenocysteine and cysteine in mammals is discussed in this chapter.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health NCI Intramural Research Program and the Center for Cancer Research (to D.L.H.) and by the National Institutes of Health Grants (to V.N.G.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Molecular Biology of Selenium Section, Laboratory of Cancer Prevention, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA

    Xue-Ming Xu, Bradley A. Carlson, Min-Hyuk Yoo & Dolph L. Hatfield

  2. Division of Genetics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Anton A. Turanov & Vadim N. Gladyshev

Authors
  1. Xue-Ming Xu
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  2. Anton A. Turanov
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  3. Bradley A. Carlson
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  4. Min-Hyuk Yoo
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  5. Vadim N. Gladyshev
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  6. Dolph L. Hatfield
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dolph L. Hatfield .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Cancer Institute, Basic Research Laboratory, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 20892, Maryland, USA

    Dolph L. Hatfield

  2. University of Hawaii, Monoa, Dole Street 2444, Honolulu, 96822, Hawaii, USA

    Marla J. Berry

  3. , Division of Genetics, Department of Medi, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard, Avenue Louis Pasteur 77, Boston, 02115, USA

    Vadim N. Gladyshev

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Xu, XM., Turanov, A.A., Carlson, B.A., Yoo, MH., Gladyshev, V.N., Hatfield, D.L. (2011). Selenocysteine Biosynthesis and the Replacement of Selenocysteine with Cysteine in the Pathway. In: Hatfield, D., Berry, M., Gladyshev, V. (eds) Selenium. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-1025-6_2

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