Pyridoxal is one form of
vitamin B6.
Some medically relevant bacteria, such as those in the genera ''Granulicatella'' and ''Abiotrophia'', require pyridoxal for growth. This nutritional requirement can lead to the culture phenomenon of satellite growth. In ''in vitro'' culture, these pyridoxal-dependent bacteria may only grow in areas surrounding colonies of bacteria from other genera ("satellitism") that are capable of producing pyridoxal.
Pyridoxal is involved in what is believed to be the most ancient reaction of aerobic metabolism on Earth, about 2.9 billion years ago, a forerunner of the
Great Oxidation Event.
["Protein Domain Structure Uncovers the Origin of Aerobic Metabolism and the Rise of Planetary Oxygen", Gustavo Caetano-Anolles et al., published in Structure; paper available from University of Illinois News Bureau, 2012.]
See also
*
Pyridoxal phosphate
Pyridoxal phosphate (PLP, pyridoxal 5'- phosphate, P5P), the active form of vitamin B6, is a coenzyme in a variety of enzymatic reactions. The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has catalogued more than 140 PLP-dependent ...
References
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Vitamins
Hydroxypyridines
Aldehydes
3-Hydroxypropenals
Aromatic ketones