| Description | 2-Isopropyl-3-oxosuccinate belongs to the class of organic compounds known as short-chain keto acids and derivatives. These are keto acids with an alkyl chain that contains less than 6 carbon atoms. 2-Isopropyl-3-oxosuccinate is an extremely weak basic (essentially neutral) compound (based on its pKa). 2-Isopropyl-3-oxosuccinate exists in all living species, ranging from bacteria to humans. 2-Isopropyl-3-oxosuccinate has been detected, but not quantified in, several different foods, such as garden onion (var.), German camomiles, limes, cloud ear fungus, and citrus. This could make 2-isopropyl-3-oxosuccinate a potential biomarker for the consumption of these foods. 2-Isopropyl-3-oxosuccinate is an intermediate in leucine biosynthesis and can be generated from (2R,3S)-3-isopropylmalate. It is the third step in leucine biosynthesis after the fork from valine synthesis. It is an oxidative decarboxylation. Leucine biosynthesis involves a five-step conversion process starting with the valine precursor 2-keto-isovalerate. The final step in this pathway is catalyzed by two transaminases of broad specificity: branched-chain amino acid transferase (IlvE) and tyrosine aminotransferase (TyrB). In this pathway, 2-isopropyl-3-oxosuccinate is converted into 4-methyl-2-oxopentanoate via a spontaneous reaction (BioCyc). |
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