d-alanine

D-alanine is the D-enantiomer of the amino acid alanine, primarily recognized for its essential role in the biosynthesis of bacterial peptidoglycan. Unlike the L-enantiomer used in protein synthesis, D-alanine is incorporated into the bacterial cell wall, where it is cross-linked by enzymes such as D-alanine-D-alanine ligase and penicillin-binding proteins to maintain structural integrity. In human physiology, D-alanine acts as a potent co-agonist at the glycine-binding site of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, which has led to its investigation as a therapeutic agent for neuropsychiatric conditions like schizophrenia. Furthermore, its selective uptake and metabolism by bacteria have enabled its use as a targeting moiety in novel diagnostic probes for the detection of intratumoral bacteria and other infections. It is also available as a dietary supplement and is widely used in research for alanine scanning to determine the importance of specific residues in peptide structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies.

Other names

D-AlanineD-Ala(R)-2-aminopropanoic acidD-2-aminopropionic acidD2-aminopropionic acidD 2-aminopropionic acid