Racemization in reverse: evidence that D-amino acid toxicity on Earth is controlled by bacteria with racemases.

D-amino acids are toxic for life on Earth. Yet, they form constantly due to geochemical racemization and bacterial growth (the cell walls of which contain D-amino acids), raising the fundamental question of how they ultimately are recycled. This study provides evidence that bacteria use D-amino acid...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Gaosen Zhang, Henry J Sun
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2014-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3960212?pdf=render