「キラリティの起原と生物界のD-アミノ酸」の特集にあたって

抄録

The homochirality of biological amino acids (L-form) or sugars (D-form) might be established before the origin of life. It has been considered that D-amino acids and L-sugars were eliminated on the primitive earth. Therefore, the presence and function of D-amino acids in living organism have not been studied except for D-amino acids in the cell wall of micro-organism. However, D-amino acids were recently found in various living higher organisms in the form of free amino acids, peptides, and proteins. This review deals with the recent advances in the various studies of D-amino acids in higher organism.