Primary metabolite
Encyclopedia
A primary metabolite is a kind of metabolite
that is directly involved in normal growth, development, and reproduction.
Conversely, a secondary metabolite
is not directly involved in those processes, but usually has an important ecological
function.
Metabolite
Metabolites are the intermediates and products of metabolism. The term metabolite is usually restricted to small molecules. A primary metabolite is directly involved in normal growth, development, and reproduction. Alcohol is an example of a primary metabolite produced in large-scale by industrial...
that is directly involved in normal growth, development, and reproduction.
Conversely, a secondary metabolite
Secondary metabolite
Secondary metabolites are organic compounds that are not directly involved in the normal growth, development, or reproduction of an organism. Unlike primary metabolites, absence of secondary metabolities does not result in immediate death, but rather in long-term impairment of the organism's...
is not directly involved in those processes, but usually has an important ecological
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
function.
See also
- MetabolismMetabolismMetabolism is the set of chemical reactions that happen in the cells of living organisms to sustain life. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. Metabolism is usually divided into two categories...
- MetaboliteMetaboliteMetabolites are the intermediates and products of metabolism. The term metabolite is usually restricted to small molecules. A primary metabolite is directly involved in normal growth, development, and reproduction. Alcohol is an example of a primary metabolite produced in large-scale by industrial...
- Secondary metaboliteSecondary metaboliteSecondary metabolites are organic compounds that are not directly involved in the normal growth, development, or reproduction of an organism. Unlike primary metabolites, absence of secondary metabolities does not result in immediate death, but rather in long-term impairment of the organism's...
- AntimetaboliteAntimetaboliteAn antimetabolite is a chemical that inhibits the use of a metabolite, which is another chemical that is part of normal metabolism. Such substances are often similar in structure to the metabolite that they interfere with, such as the antifolates that interfere with the use of folic acid...
- Metabolic control analysisMetabolic control analysisMetabolic control analysis is a mathematical framework for describingmetabolic, signaling and genetic pathways. MCA quantifies how variables,such as fluxes and species concentrations, depend on network parameters....
, a specific kind of control analysis - MetabolomeMetabolomeMetabolome refers to the complete set of small-molecule metabolites to be found within a biological sample, such as a single organism...
- MetabolomicsMetabolomicsMetabolomics is the scientific study of chemical processes involving metabolites. Specifically, metabolomics is the "systematic study of the unique chemical fingerprints that specific cellular processes leave behind", the study of their small-molecule metabolite profiles...
= the study of global metabolite profiles in a system (cell, tissue, or organism) under a given set of conditions.