刀豆氨酸是在豆科类植物中合成的一种非蛋白质氨基酸,其结构与精氨酸相似。它对许多生物具有细胞毒性,因此可用于杀灭虫害。刀豆氨酸抗代谢作用的一个重要环节,是使精氨酰—t RNA合成酶失活,从而不能将其与精氨酸加以区别。结果就导致刀豆氨酸错误地被合成到结构和功能蛋白质中,造成这种蛋白质的变型。如果这些变型蛋白质被用于DNA复制和RNA转录,则表现出其细胞毒性。例如,在大肠杆菌以及某些藻类中,刀豆氨酸可使RNA合成明显减少;在烟叶天蛾虫卵中可抑制RNA多聚酶活性;在一些病毒中则阻止RNA多聚 Knackin is a non-protein amino acid synthesized in leguminous plants and has a structure similar to that of arginine. It is cytotoxic to many organisms and therefore can be used to kill pests. An important part of cananine’s antimetabolism is the inactivation of arginyl-tRNA synthetase so that it can not be distinguished from arginine. As a result, the concanavalin is incorrectly synthesized into structural and functional proteins, resulting in a variant of this protein. If these variant proteins are used for DNA replication and RNA transcription, they show their cytotoxicity. For example, canavanine significantly reduces RNA synthesis in Escherichia coli and certain algae; inhibits RNA polymerase activity in the H. ovum eggs; in some viruses, it prevents RNA polymerisation