Three steps from chorismate. Humans cannot do this; phenylalanine is an essential amino acid
Route: Chorismate → Prephenate → Phenylpyruvate → Phenylalanine
Chorismate mutase turns chorismate into prephenate in a Claisen rearrangement. Prephenate dehydratase then removes water and CO₂, which leaves a fully aromatic ring: phenylpyruvate. The last step is the transamination from glutamate. In E. coli one bifunctional protein does the first two steps. Humans get phenylalanine from food and use it to make tyrosine.
Practice this pathway All pathways
| Step | Enzyme | EC | In | Out |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chorismate mutase | 5.4.99.5 | ||
| 2 | Prephenate dehydratase | 4.2.1.51 | H₂O, CO₂ | |
| 3 | Aromatic amino acid aminotransferase | 2.6.1.57 | Glutamate | α-KG |
Enzyme names and EC numbers are those used on the interactive board. Checked against sources: see the claim table in the repository (tools/pathway_data/checks).