Abstract
Synthesis by plants of homocysteine, the immediate precursor of methionine, is a key reaction in biology (Allaway, 1970). This is so because non-ruminant animals require a dietary source of homocysteine, which is normally provided in the form of methionine. Animals metabolize these sulfur amino acids eventually to inorganic sulfate. Plants complete the cycle of sulfur by reductive assimilation of inorganic sulfate to methionine (and cysteine) (Siegel, 1975), and are thus the ultimate source of methionine in most animal diets.
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© 1980 Plenum Press, New York
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Giovanelli, J., Mudd, S.H., Datko, A.H. (1980). Homocysteine Biosynthesis in Plants. In: Cavallini, D., Gaull, G.E., Zappia, V. (eds) Natural Sulfur Compounds. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3045-5_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3045-5_7
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