Ornithine
Chemical name	Ornithine
Chemical formula	C5H12N2O2
Molecular mass	132.16 g/mol
Melting point	xx.x °C
Boiling point	xx.x °C
Density	x.xxx g/cm3
CAS number	70-26-8
SMILES	xxx
Disclaimer and references

Ornithine is an amino acid, whose structure is: IUPAC nomenclature is a systematic way of naming organic chemical compounds as recommended by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). ... A chemical formula (also called molecular formula) is a concise way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound. ... The molecular mass of a substance (less accurately called molecular weight and abbreviated as MW) is the mass of one molecule of that substance, relative to the unified atomic mass unit u (equal to 1/12 the mass of one atom of carbon-12). ... The melting point of a solid is the temperature at which it changes state from solid to liquid. ... The boiling point of a substance is the temperature at which it can change state from a liquid to a gas throughout the bulk of the liquid. ... Density (symbol: ρ - Greek: rho) is a measure of mass per unit of volume. ... CAS registry numbers are unique numerical identifiers for chemical compounds, polymers, biological sequences, mixtures and alloys. ... The simplified molecular input line entry specification or SMILES is a specification for unambiguously describing the structure of chemical molecules using short ASCII alpha-numeric strings. ... Chemical structure in use as an example structure for Template:Chembox_simple_organic (it is tetrahydrocannabinol). ... In chemistry, an amino acid is any molecule that contains both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. ...

NH₂-CH₂-CH₂-CH₂-CHNH₂-COOH

Ornithine is one of the products of the action of the enzyme arginase on L-arginine, creating urea. Therefore, ornithine is a central part of the urea cycle, which allows for the disposal of excess nitrogen. General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 14. ... General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ... General Name, Symbol, Number carbon, C, 6 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 14, 2, p Appearance black (graphite) colorless (diamond) Atomic mass 12. ... General Name, Symbol, Number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 15. ... Arginase (EC 3. ... Arginine is one of the 20 most common natural amino acids. ... Urea is an organic compound of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen, with the formula CON2H4 or (NH2)2CO and the structure shown right: Urea is also known as carbamide, especially in the recommended International Non-proprietary Names (rINN) in use in Europe. ... The Urea Cycle is a cycle of biochemical reactions occurring in many animal organisms that produces urea from ammonia. ... General Name, Symbol, Number nitrogen, N, 7 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 15, 2, p Appearance colorless Atomic mass 14. ...

Ornithine is not an amino acid coded for by DNA, and in that sense, is not involved in protein synthesis. However, in mammalian non-hepatic tissues, the main use of the urea cycle is in arginine biosynthesis, so as an intermediate in metabolic processes, ornithine is quite important. It is believed to not be a part of genetic code because polypeptides containing unprotected ornithines undergo spontaneous lactamization. This proved to be a problem when ornithine was artificially incorporated in 21st amino acid systems. Space-filling model of a section of DNA molecule Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions specifying the biological development of all cellular forms of life (and many viruses). ... An overview of protein synthesis. ...

Image File history File links Ornithine polypeptide lactamization File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ...

Ornithine, via the action of ornithine decarboxylase (E.C. 4.1.1.17), is the starting point for the synthesis of polyamines such as putrescine. The enzyme ornithine decarboxylase (PDB 7odc, EC 4. ... The polyamines are organic compounds, such as putrescine, spermidine, and spermine, that are growth factors in both eucaryotic and procaryotic cells. ... Putrescine (sometimes spelled putrescin or putrescene) is an organic chemical compound NH2(CH2)4NH2 (1,4-diaminobutane or butanediamine) formed by and having the smell of rotting flesh. ...

In bacteria, such as E. coli, ornithine can be synthesized from L-glutamate (see reference below). Glutamic acid or glutamate is one of the 20 most common natural amino acids. ...

External links

• Ornithine biosynthesis