Iminoaspartic acid (also known as iminosuccinate or iminoaspartate) is a dicarboxylic acid used in the biosynthesis of nicotinic acid and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide.
Biosynthesis The enzyme L-aspartate oxidase oxidises L-aspartic acid:
Subsequent conversions In Escherichia coli another enzyme, quinolinate synthase, takes iminosuccinic acid with dihydroxyacetone phosphate to form quinolinic acid.
This iron-sulfur protein requires a [4Fe-4S] cluster for activity. The quinolinic acid can be converted to nicotinic acid or incorporated into nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide.
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