Bacteria do not incorporate β-N-methylamino-l-alanine into their proteins

The neurotoxin BMAA in aquatic systems : analysis, occurrence and effects

“…[34,97,98]), propyl chloroformate (e.g. [91,99]) and dansyl chloride [100,101]), see Box 1.2 for explanation of AQC derivatised LC-MS/MS analysis. LC separation of underivatised BMAA under reversed phase conditions is difficult due to the molecule's low weight and high polarity.…”

“…And although precipitated bound BMAA is often referred to as "protein-associated" BMAA, the exact nature of the association of BMAA with proteins in natural tissues also needs to be elucidated. In vitro, BMAA can be incorporated into 1 proteins [65,90], but in vivo experiments with bacteria do not show protein incorporation [91]. Whether protein incorporation also occurs in vivo is therefore still to be determined.…”

“…It was suggested that this latency period was caused by the presence of a 'toxic reservoir', in which BMAA was stored in a protein-associated form and was slowly released in its free form [70]. Recent studies indeed indicate that BMAA can either associate with, or be incorporated into proteins [65,90,141,176], although this association might in some cases be superficial [91]. BMAA can be maternally transferred as shown for mice, either directly [177] or trough milk during lactation [178].…”

“…This fraction is commonly referred to as "protein associated" or "protein bound" [33,35], but the association of BMAA with proteins in natural samples still needs to be elucidated. In vitro, BMAA can be incorporated into proteins and can be associated to proteins through non-covalent bonding [65,90], but in vivo experiments with bacteria do not show protein incorporation [91]. Only few studies look at soluble bound BMAA in an isolated fraction (e.g., [89,92,103,198]).…”

“…BMAA can also be derivatised after extraction to obtain a larger, more hydrophobic molecule which is easily separated by reversed phase liquid chromatography. Commonly used derivatisation agents are 6-aminoquinolyl-N-hydroxysuccinimidyl carbamate (AQC, e.g., [34,97,98]), propyl chloroformate (e.g., [91,99]) and dansyl chloride [100,101].…”