Arginine deiminase

In enzymology, an arginine deiminase is an enzyme that catalyzes the chemical reaction


 * L-arginine + H2O $$\rightleftharpoons$$ L-citrulline + NH3

Thus, the two substrates of this enzyme are L-arginine and H2O, whereas its two products are L-citrulline and NH3.

This enzyme belongs to the family of hydrolases, those acting on carbon-nitrogen bonds other than peptide bonds, specifically in linear amidines. The systematic name of this enzyme class is L-arginine iminohydrolase. Other names in common use include arginine dihydrolase, citrulline iminase, and L-arginine deiminase. This enzyme participates in arginine and proline metabolism.

Structural studies
As of late 2007, 7 structures have been solved for this class of enzymes, with PDB accession codes, , , , , , and.