FB2026_01 , released March 12, 2026
FB2026_01 , released March 12, 2026
Pathway: L-ARGININE METABOLISM
Open Close
General Information
Name
L-ARGININE METABOLISM
Species
D. melanogaster
Symbol
ARGMET
FlyBase ID
FBgg0002186
Date last reviewed
2025-01-27
Number of members
3
Description
Description
L-arginine is an essential amino acid. In the mitochondrion, and probably in the cytosol, L-arginine is converted by Arg to L-ornithine, a precursor for the biosynthesis of polyamine, L-proline and L-glutamate. L-arginine is also a precursor for the biosynthesis of the signalling molecule nitric oxide (NO). L-citrulline, a by-product of NO synthesis, can be converted back to L-arginine by the sequential action of Ass and Argl. In D. melanogaster, L-arginine is used to produce phospho-L-arginine which serves as the main high-energy phosphate reservoir instead of phosphocreatine. (Adapted from PMID:40081835.)
Notes

D. melanogaster, as many insects, is uricotelic and lacks a functional urea cycle as it does not have homologs for ornithine transcarbamylase and carbamoyl-phosphate synthase. Although agmatine, a L-arginine derivative, has been detected in Dmel it is not known whether it can be produced endogenously as Dmel has no homologs for arginine decarboxylase or agmatinase.

Source Material
The L-ARGININE METABOLISM Gene Group has been compiled using the following publication(s): Samson, 2000 .
Key Gene Ontology (GO) terms
Biological Process
L-arginine catabolic process
L-arginine biosynthetic process
Cellular Component
cytosol
mitochondrion
Related Gene Groups
Parent group(s)
AMINO ACID METABOLISM
GO Causal Activity Model (GO-CAM)
Members (3)
For all members:
GO ribbon stack
 molecular functionbiological processcellular component
External Data
Other resource(s)
Note: The Drosophila pathways shown at these resources are computed using different methods. They may therefore differ from the manually curated and verified pathway shown above.

[FlyCyc: L-arginine degradation I (arginase pathway)](https://biocyc.org/pathway?orgid=DMEL&id=ARGASEDEG-PWY)

[FlyCyc: L-arginine degradation VI (arginase 2 pathway)](https://biocyc.org/pathway?orgid=DMEL&id=ARG-PRO-PWY)

[KEGG: Arginine biosynthesis](https://www.kegg.jp/pathway/dme00220)

[KEGG: Arginine and proline metabolism](https://www.kegg.jp/kegg-bin/show_pathway?dme00330)

Synonyms and Secondary IDs
Synonym(s)
ARGMET
L-ARGININE METABOLISM
Secondary FlyBase ID(s)
References (3)