Synthesis of the novel dipeptide beta-aspartylglycine by Aplysia ganglia.

Isolated ganglia from Aplysia californica rapidly took up [14C]glycine or [14C]aspartate from a sea-water medium. Approximately 20% of the tissue radioactivity was recovered in the peptides beta-aspartylglycine and glutathione after incubation with [14C]glycine. Compared with other individual cells isolated from the abdominal ganglion, the glycine-containing white cells (R3-R14) incorporated less [14C]glycine into beta-aspartylglycine, but similar amounts into glutathione. In contrast, [14C]aspartate was metabolized primarily to nonamino dicarboxylic acids and relatively little radioactivity was incorporated into beta-aspartylglycine.