Intermediary carbohydrate metabolism in the adult filarial worm Setaria digitata.

Several key enzymes related to carbohydrate metabolism were assayed in Setaria digitata. In the cytosolic fraction pyruvate kinase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, malate dehydrogenase, malic enzyme, aspartate transaminase and alanine transaminase were found. Among the TCA cycle enzymes succinate dehydrogenase, fumarate reductase, fumarase (malate dehydration), malate dehydrogenase (malate oxidation and oxaloacetate reduction) and malic enzyme (malate decarboxylation) were detected in the mitochondrial fraction. Only reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) dehydrogenase, NADH oxidase and NADH-cytochrome c reductase were found in the mitochondrial fraction. The significance of these results with respect to the metabolic capabilities of the worm are discussed.     

Regulation of the dicarboxylic acid part of the citric acid cycle in Bacillus subtilis.

The regulation of alpha-ketogluterate dehydrogenase, succinate dehydrogenase, fumarase, malate dehydrogenase, and malic enzyme has been studied in Bacillus subitilis. The levels of these enzymes increase rapidly during late exponential phase in a complex medium and are maximal 1 to 2 h after the onset of sporulation. Regulation of enzyme synthesis has been studied in the wild type and different citric acid cycle mutants by adding various metabolites to the growth medium. Alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase is induced by glutamate or alpha-ketoglutarate; succinate dehydrogenase is repressed by malate; and fumarase and malic enzyme are induced by fumarate and malate, respectively. The addition of glucose leads to repression of the citric acid cycle enzymes whereas the level of malic enzyme is unaffected. Studies on the control of enzyme activities in vitro have shown that alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase and succinate dehydrogenase are inhibited by oxalacetate. Enzyme activities are also influenced by the energy level, expressed as the energy charge of the adenylate pool. Isocitrate dehydrogenase, alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, succinate dehydrogenase, and malic enzyme are inhibited at high energy charge values, whereas malate dehydrogenase is inhibited at low energy charge. A survey of the regulation of the citric acid cycle in B.subtilis, based on the present work and previously reported results, is presented and discussed.     

Environmental and physiological factors affecting the succinate product ratio during carbohydrate fermentation by Actinobacillus sp. 130Z

Actinobacillus sp. 130Z fermented glucose to the major products succinate, acetate, and formate. Ethanol was formed as a minor fermentation product. Under CO₂-limiting conditions, less succinate and more ethanol were formed. The fermentation product ratio remained constant at pH values from 6.0 to 7.4. More succinate was produced when hydrogen was present in the gas phase. Actinobacillus sp. 130Z grew at the expense of fumarate and l-malate reduction, with hydrogen as an electron donor. Other substrates such as more-reduced carbohydrates (e.g., d-sorbitol) resulted in higher succinate and/or ethanol production. Actinobacillus sp. 130Z contained the key enzymes involved in the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas and the pentose-phosphate pathways and contained high levels of phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) carboxykinase, malate dehydrogenase, fumarase, fumarate reductase, pyruvate kinase, pyruvate formate-lyase, phosphotransacetylase, acetate kinase, malic enzyme, and oxaloacetate decarboxylase. The levels of PEP carboxykinase, malate dehydrogenase, and fumarase were significantly higher in Actinobacillus sp. 130Z than in Escherichia coli K-12 and accounted for the differences in succinate production. Key enzymes in end product formation in Actinobacillus sp. 130Z were regulated by the energy substrates. Received: 2 September 1996 / Accepted: 10 January 1997     

A spectrophotometric coupled enzyme assay to measure the activity of succinate dehydrogenase

Respiratory complex II (succinate:ubiquinone oxidoreductase) connects the tricarboxylic acid cycle to the electron transport chain in mitochondria and many prokaryotes. Complex II mutations have been linked to neurodegenerative diseases and metabolic defects in cancer. However, there is no convenient stoichiometric assay for the catalytic activity of complex II. Here, we present a simple, quantitative, real-time method to detect the production of fumarate from succinate by complex II that is easy to implement and applicable to the isolated enzyme, membrane preparations, and tissue homogenates. Our assay uses fumarate hydratase to convert fumarate to malate and uses oxaloacetate decarboxylating malic dehydrogenase to convert malate to pyruvate and to convert NADP⁺ to NADPH; the NADPH is detected spectrometrically. Simple protocols for the high-yield production of the two enzymes required are described; oxaloacetate decarboxylating malic dehydrogenase is also suitable for accurate determination of the activity of fumarate hydratase. Unlike existing spectrometric assay methods for complex II that rely on artificial electron acceptors (e.g., 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol), our coupled assay is specific and stoichiometric (1:1 for succinate oxidation to NADPH formation), so it is suitable for comprehensive analyses of the catalysis and inhibition of succinate dehydrogenase activities in samples with both simple and complex compositions.     

Pathways of glucose catabolism in procyclic Trypanosoma congolense

Studies of respiration on glucose in procyclic Trypanosoma congolense in the presence of rotenone, antimycin, cyanide, salicylhydroxamic acid and malonate have indicated the presence of NADH dehydrogenase, cytochrome b-c1, cytochrome aa3, trypanosome alternate oxidase and NADH fumarate reductase/succinate dehydrogenase pathway that contributes electrons to coenzyme Q of the respiratory chain. The rotenone sensitive NADH dehydrogenase, the trypanosome alternate oxidase, and cytochrome aa3 accounted for 24.5 +/- 6.5, 36.2 +/- 4.2 and 54.1 +/- 5.5% respectively of the total respiration. Activities of lactate dehydrogenase, NAD(+)-linked malic enzyme and pyruvate kinase were less than 6 nanomoles/min/mg protein suggesting that they play a minor role in energy metabolism of the parasite. Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase, pyruvate dehydrogenase, succinate dehydrogenase, NADP(+)-linked malic enzyme, NADH fumarate reductase, malate dehydrogenase, and alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase and glycerol kinase on the other hand had specific activities greater than 60 nanomoles/min/mg protein. These enzyme activities could account for the production of pyruvate, acetate, succinate and glycerol. The results further show that the amount of glycerol produced was 35-48% of the combined total of pyruvate, acetate and succinate produced. It is apparent that some of the glycerol 3-phosphate produced in glycolysis in the presence of salicylhydroxamic acid is dephosphorylated to form glycerol while the rest is oxidised via cytochrome aa3 to form acetate, succinate and pyruvate.     

Channeling of TCA cycle intermediates in cultured Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Oxidation of [3-13C]propionate was studied in cultured yeast cells, and the distribution of label in the 2- and 3-positions of alanine was detected by 13C NMR. [3-13C]Propionate forms [2-13C]succinyl-CoA in the mitochondria which then enters the citric acid cycle and forms malate through two symmetrical intermediates, succinate and fumarate. If these symmetrical intermediates randomly diffuse from one enzyme to the next in mitochondria as is normally assumed, then 13C labeling in malate C2 and C3 must be equal. However, any direct transfer of metabolites from site to site between succinate thiokinase, succinate dehydrogenase, and fumarase would result in an uneven distribution of 13C in malate C2 and C3 and any molecules derived from malate. Since pyruvate may be derived from malate via the malic enzyme and subsequently converted into alanine by transamination, any 13C asymmetry in alanine C2 and C3 must directly reflect the 13C distribution in the malate pool. During oxidation of [3-13C]propionate, we detect a significant quantity of labeled alanine, where 13C enrichment in C3 is significantly higher than that in C2. Inhibition of succinate dehydrogenase with malonate or creating conditions that increase the chances of a back-reaction (from malate to fumarate) result in a significant decrease in the asymmetric labeling of alanine. Ubiquinone-deficient yeast cells (having only 10% of the oxidative capacity of wild-type cells) could slowly oxidize propionate, but in this case the 13C labeling was equal in the C2 and C3 of alanine, showing that isotope randomization had occurred.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Elucidation of enzymes in fermentation pathways used by Clostridium thermosuccinogenes growing on inulin

Based on the presence and absence of enzyme activities, the biochemical pathways for the fermentation of inulin by Clostridium thermosuccinogenes DSM 5809 are proposed. Activities of nine enzymes (lactate dehydrogenase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, malate dehydrogenase, fumarase, fumarate reductase, phosphotransacetylase, acetate kinase, pyruvate kinase, and alcohol dehydrogenase) were measured at four temperatures (37, 47, 58, and 70 degrees C). Each of the enzymes increased 1.5 to 2.0-fold in activity between 37 and 58 degrees C, but only lactate dehydrogenase, fumarate reductase, malate dehydrogenase, and fumarase increased at a similar rate between 58 and 70 degrees C. No acetate kinase activity was observed at 70 degrees C. Arrhenius energies were calculated for each of these nine enzymes and were in the range of 9.8 to 25.6 kcal/mol. To determine if a relationship existed between product formation and enzyme activity, serum bottle fermentations were completed at the four temperatures. Maximum yields (in moles per mole hexose unit) for succinate (0.23) and acetate (0.79) and for biomass (29.5 g/mol hexose unit) occurred at 58 degrees C, whereas the maximum yields for lactate (0.19) and hydrogen (0.25) and the lowest yields for acetate (0.03) and biomass (19.2 g/mol hexose unit) were observed at 70 degrees C. The ratio of oxidized products to reduced products changed significantly, from 0.52 to 0.65, with an increase in temperature from 58 to 70 degrees C, and there was an unexplained detection of increased reduced products (ethanol, lactate, and hydrogen) with a concomitant decrease in oxidized-product formation at the higher temperature.     

Properties of an inducible C 4 -dicarboxylic acid transport system in Bacillus subtilis

The transport of the tricarboxylic acid cycle C(4)-dicarboxylic acids was studied in both the wild-type strain and tricarboxylic acid cycle mutants of Bacillus subtilis. Active transport of malate, fumarate, and succinate was found to be inducible by these dicarboxylic acids or by precursors to them, whereas glucose or closely related metabolites catabolite-repressed their uptake. l-Malate was found to be the best dicarboxylic acid transport inducer in succinic dehydrogenase, fumarase, and malic dehydrogenase mutants. Succinate and fumarate are accumulated over 100-fold in succinic dehydrogenase and fumarase mutants, respectively, whereas mutants lacking malate dehydrogenase were unable to accumulate significant quantities of the C(4)-dicarboxylic acids. The stereospecificity of this transport system was studied from a comparison of the rates of competitive inhibition of both succinate uptake and efflux in a succinate dehydrogenase mutant by utilizing thirty dicarboxylic acid analogues. The system was specific for the C(4)-dicarboxylic acids of the tricarboxylic acid cycle, neither citrate nor alpha-ketoglutarate were effective competitive inhibitors. Of a wide variety of metabolic inhibitors tested, inhibiors of oxidative phosphorylation and of the formation of proton gradients were the most potent inhibitors of transport. From the kinetics of dicarboxylic acid transport (K(m) approximately 10(-4) M for succinate or fumarate in succinic acid dehydrogenase and fumarase mutants) and from the competitive inhibition studies, it was concluded that an inducible dicarboxylic acid transport system mediates the entry of malate, fumarate, or succinate into B. subtilis. Mutants devoid of alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase were shown to accumulate both alpha-ketoglutarate and glutamate, and these metabolites subsequently inhibited the transport of all the C(4)-dicarboxylic acids, suggesting a regulatory role.     

L-malate production by metabolically engineered Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli strains (KJ060 and KJ073) that were previously developed for succinate production have now been modified for malate production. Many unexpected changes were observed during this investigation. The initial strategy of deleting fumarase isoenzymes was ineffective, and succinate continued to accumulate. Surprisingly, a mutation in fumarate reductase alone was sufficient to redirect carbon flow into malate even in the presence of fumarase. Further deletions were needed to inactivate malic enzymes (typically gluconeogenic) and prevent conversion to pyruvate. However, deletion of these genes (sfcA and maeB) resulted in the unexpected accumulation of D-lactate despite the prior deletion of mgsA and ldhA and the absence of apparent lactate dehydrogenase activity. Although the metabolic source of this D-lactate was not identified, lactate accumulation was increased by supplementation with pyruvate and decreased by the deletion of either pyruvate kinase gene (pykA or pykF) to reduce the supply of pyruvate. Many of the gene deletions adversely affected growth and cell yield in minimal medium under anaerobic conditions, and volumetric rates of malate production remained low. The final strain (XZ658) produced 163 mM malate, with a yield of 1.0 mol (mol glucose(-1)), half of the theoretical maximum. Using a two-stage process (aerobic cell growth and anaerobic malate production), this engineered strain produced 253 mM malate (34 g liter(-1)) within 72 h, with a higher yield (1.42 mol mol(-1)) and productivity (0.47 g liter(-1) h(-1)). This malate yield and productivity are equal to or better than those of other known biocatalysts.     

Strain variation in Hymenolepis diminuta: enzyme profiles

In comparative study of respiratory metabolism, it was established that the relative proportions of respiratory end-products (succinic, acetic and lactic acids) differed consistently in two strains of Hymenolepis diminuta (Toronto and ANU). The ANU strain produced more lactic acid and less succinic acid under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. In the shift from aerobic to anaerobic conditions both strains compensated by increasing their outputs of succinic acid. The ANU strain possessed significantly higher activities of hexokinase, pyruvate kinase, lactate dehydrogenase, cytosolic and mitochondrial malic enzyme and cytosolic α-glycerophosphate dehy drogenase. The Toronto strain had significantly higher activities of fumarase, succinate dehydrogenase, and fumarate reductase. There were no significant differences in the activities of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and malic dehydrogenase between strains. The fumarase activity in the Toronto strain was 16 times that of the ANU strain, its K_m (malate) was 0.8mM, as opposed to 2.5 mM, and it was less sensitive to inhibition by NAD or ATP. These observations are consistent with the patterns of end-product formation in the two strains. Ratios of end-products and calculations of approximate redox balance suggest that the Toronto strain may have a greater capacity for aerobic metabolism.     

RNA synthesis during morphogenesis of the fungusMucor racemosus

Bacteroides succinogenes produces acetate and succinate as major products of carbohydrate fermentation. An investigation of the enzymes involved indicated that pyruvate is oxidized by a flavin-dependent pyruvate cleavage enzyme to acetyl-CoA and CO₂. Active CO₂ exchange is associated with the pyruvate oxidation system. Reduction of flavin nucleotides is CoASH-dependent and does not require ferredoxin. Acetyl-CoA is further metabolized via acetyl phosphate to acetate and ATP. Reduced flavin nucleotide is used to reduce fumarate to succinate by a particulate flavin-specific fumarate reductase reaction which may involve cytochrome b. Phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) is carboxylated to oxalacetate by a GDP-specific PEP carboxykinase. Oxalacetate, in turn, is converted to malate by a pyridine nucleotide-dependent malate dehydrogenase. The organism has a NAD-dependent glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. The data suggest that reduced pyridine nucleotides generated during glycolysis are oxidized in malate formation and that the electrons generated during pyruvate oxidation are used to reduce fumarate to succinate.     

Citrate Cycle and Related Metabolism of Listeria monocytogenes

The growth response of Listeria monocytogenes strains A4413 and 9037-7 to carbohydrates was determined in a defined medium. Neither pyruvate, acetate, citrate, isocitrate, alpha-ketoglutarate, succinate, fumarate, nor malate supported growth. Furthermore, inclusion of any of these carbohydrates in the growth medium with glucose did not increase the growth of Listeria over that observed on glucose alone. Resting cell suspensions of strain A4413 oxidized pyruvate but not acetate, citrate, isocitrate, alpha-ketoglutarate, succinate, fumarate, or malate. Cell-free extracts of strain A4413 contained active citrate synthase, aconitate hydratase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase, fumarate hydratase, fumarate reductase, pyruvate dehydrogenase system, and oxidases for reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate. The alpha-ketoglutarate oxidation system, succinate dehydrogenase, isocitrate lyase, and malate synthase were not detected. Cytochromes were not detected. The data suggest that strain A4413, under these conditions, utilizes a split noncyclic citrate pathway which has an oxidative portion (citrate synthase, aconitate hydratase, and isocitrate dehydrogenase) and a reductive portion (malate dehydrogenase, fumarate hydratase, and fumarate reductase). This pathway is probably important in biosynthesis but not for a net gain in energy.     

Lactate Metabolism by Veillonella parvula

A strain of Veillonella parvula M4, which grows readily in lactate broth without a requirement for carbon dioxide, has been isolated from the oral cavity. Anaerobic, washed cells of this organism fermented sodium lactate to the following products (moles/100 moles of lactate): propionate, 66; acetate, 40; carbon dioxide, 40; and hydrogen, 14. Cells grew readily in tryptone-yeast extract broth with pyruvate, oxaloacetate, malate, and fumarate, but poorly with succinate. The fermentation of pyruvate, oxaloacetate, or lactate plus oxaloacetate by washed cells resulted in the formation of propionate and acetate in ratios significantly lower than those observed with lactate as the sole carbon source. This was primarily due to increased acetate production. Cell-free extracts were unable to degrade lactate but metabolized lactate in the presence of oxaloacetate, indicating the presence of malic-lactic transhydrogenase in this organism. Lactic dehydrogenase activity was not observed. Evidence is presented for oxaloacetate decarboxylase and malic dehydrogenase activities in extracts.     

Formation of formate and hydrogen, and flux of reducing equivalents and carbon in Ruminococcus flavefaciens Fd-1

A pathway for conversion of the metabolic intermediate phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) and the formation of acetate, succinate, formate, and H₂ in the anaerobic cellulolytic bacterium Ruminococcus flavefaciens FD-1 was constructed on the basis of enzyme activities detected in extracts of cells grown in cellulose- or cellobiose-limited continuous culture. PEP was converted to acetate and CO₂ (via pyruvate kinase, pyruvate dehydrogenase, and acetate kinase) or carboxylated to form succinate (via PEP carboxykinase, malate dehydrogenase, fumarase, and fumarate reductase). Lactate was not formed even during rapid growth (batch culture, µ = 0.35/h). H₂ was formed by a hydrogenase rather than by cleavage of formate, and ¹³C-NMR and¹⁴ C-exchange reaction data indicated that formate was produced by CO₂ reduction, not by a cleavage of pyruvate. The distribution of PEP into the acetate and succinate pathways was not affected by changing extracellular pH and growth rates within the normal growth range. However, increasing growth rate from 0.017/h to 0.244/h resulted in a shift toward formate production, presumably at the presence of H₂. This shift suggested that reducing equivalents could be balanced through formate or H₂ production without affecting the yields of the major carbon-containing fermentation endproducts.     

Enzymatic Activity in Mitochondria from Orobanche

Mitochondria from Orobanche were analysed for the activities of aconitate hydratase, isocitrate dehydrogenase, succinate dehydro-genase, fumarate hydratase, malate dehydrogenase, NADH oxidase, substrate-cytochrome c oxidoreductases, glutamate dehydrogenase, aminotransferases, ATPase and “malic” enzyme. The specific activities of isocitrate dehydrogenase, NADH oxidase, substrate-cytochrome c oxidoreductases and glutamate dehydrogenase in the mitochondria) fraction from parasite tissue compared favourably with those reported for most of the mitochondria from growing and storage tissues. Succinate dehydrogenase, fumarate hydratase and aspartate aminotransferase were of intermediate activity, while aconitate hydratase and malate dehydrogenase had rather low activity, and “malic” enzyme had very low activity in comparison with other preparations. The relevance of these findings in relation to mitochondrial metabolism in the parasite is discussed. No evidence was obtained to suggest any basic abnormality in the biochemical properties of the mitochondria from Orobanche centua which may be correlated with its obligatorily parasitic existence.     

Pathway and sites for energy conservation in the metabolism of glucose by Selenomonas ruminantium.

On the basis of enzyme activities detected in extracts of Selenomonas ruminantium HD4 grown in glucose-limited continuous culture, at a slow (0.11 h-1) and a fast (0.52 h-1) dilution rate, a pathway of glucose catabolism to lactate, acetate, succinate, and propionate was constructed. Glucose was catabolized to phosphoenol pyruvate (PEP) via the Emden-Meyerhoff-Parnas pathway. PEP was converted to either pyruvate (via pyruvate kinase) or oxalacetate (via PEP carboxykinase). Pyruvate was reduced to L-lactate via a NAD-dependent lactate dehydrogenase or oxidatively decarboxylated to acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) and CO2 by pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase. Acetyl-CoA was apparently converted in a single enzymatic step to acetate and CoA, with concomitant formation of 1 molecule of ATP; since acetyl-phosphate was not an intermediate, the enzyme catalyzing this reaction was identified as acetate thiokinase. Oxalacetate was converted to succinate via the activities of malate dehydrogenase, fumarase and a membrane-bound fumarate reductase. Succinate was then excreted or decarboxylated to propionate via a membrane-bound methylmalonyl-CoA decarboxylase. Pyruvate kinase was inhibited by Pi and activated by fructose 1,6-bisphosphate. PEP carboxykinase activity was found to be 0.054 mumol min-1 mg of protein-1 at a dilution rate of 0.11 h-1 but could not be detected in extracts of cells grown at a dilution rate of 0.52 h-1. Several potential sites for energy conservation exist in S. ruminantium HD4, including pyruvate kinase, acetate thiokinase, PEP carboxykinase, fumarate reductase, and methylmalonyl-CoA decarboxylase. Possession of these five sites for energy conservation may explain the high yields reported here (56 to 78 mg of cells [dry weight] mol of glucose-1) for S. ruminantium HD4 grown in glucose-limited continuous culture.     

Elucidation of Enzymes in Fermentation Pathways Used by Clostridium thermosuccinogenes Growing on Inulin

Based on the presence and absence of enzyme activities, the biochemical pathways for the fermentation of inulin by Clostridium thermosuccinogenes DSM 5809 are proposed. Activities of nine enzymes (lactate dehydrogenase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, malate dehydrogenase, fumarase, fumarate reductase, phosphotransacetylase, acetate kinase, pyruvate kinase, and alcohol dehydrogenase) were measured at four temperatures (37, 47, 58, and 70°C). Each of the enzymes increased 1.5 to 2.0-fold in activity between 37 and 58°C, but only lactate dehydrogenase, fumarate reductase, malate dehydrogenase, and fumarase increased at a similar rate between 58 and 70°C. No acetate kinase activity was observed at 70°C. Arrhenius energies were calculated for each of these nine enzymes and were in the range of 9.8 to 25.6 kcal/mol. To determine if a relationship existed between product formation and enzyme activity, serum bottle fermentations were completed at the four temperatures. Maximum yields (in moles per mole hexose unit) for succinate (0.23) and acetate (0.79) and for biomass (29.5 g/mol hexose unit) occurred at 58°C, whereas the maximum yields for lactate (0.19) and hydrogen (0.25) and the lowest yields for acetate (0.03) and biomass (19.2 g/mol hexose unit) were observed at 70°C. The ratio of oxidized products to reduced products changed significantly, from 0.52 to 0.65, with an increase in temperature from 58 to 70°C, and there was an unexplained detection of increased reduced products (ethanol, lactate, and hydrogen) with a concomitant decrease in oxidized-product formation at the higher temperature.     

Identification and Characterization of MAE1, the Saccharomyces cerevisiae Structural Gene Encoding Mitochondrial Malic Enzyme

Pyruvate, a precursor for several amino acids, can be synthesized from phosphoenolpyruvate by pyruvate kinase. Nevertheless, pyk1 pyk2 mutants of Saccharomyces cerevisiae devoid of pyruvate kinase activity grew normally on ethanol in defined media, indicating the presence of an alternative route for pyruvate synthesis. A candidate for this role is malic enzyme, which catalyzes the oxidative decarboxylation of malate to pyruvate. Disruption of open reading frame YKL029c, which is homologous to malic enzyme genes from other organisms, abolished malic enzyme activity in extracts of glucose-grown cells. Conversely, overexpression of YKL029c/MAE1 from the MET25 promoter resulted in an up to 33-fold increase of malic enzyme activity. Growth studies with mutants demonstrated that presence of either Pyk1p or Mae1p is required for growth on ethanol. Mutants lacking both enzymes could be rescued by addition of alanine or pyruvate to ethanol cultures. Disruption of MAE1 alone did not result in a clear phenotype. Regulation of MAE1 was studied by determining enzyme activities and MAE1 mRNA levels in wild-type cultures and by measuring β-galactosidase activities in a strain carrying a MAE1::lacZ fusion. Both in shake flask cultures and in carbon-limited chemostat cultures, MAE1 was constitutively expressed. A three- to fourfold induction was observed during anaerobic growth on glucose. Subcellular fractionation experiments indicated that malic enzyme in S. cerevisiae is a mitochondrial enzyme. Its regulation and localization suggest a role in the provision of intramitochondrial NADPH or pyruvate under anaerobic growth conditions. However, since null mutants could still grow anaerobically, this function is apparently not essential.     

Regulation by ammonium and glucose of Arthrobacter fluorescens alanine dehydrogenase

Alanine dehydrogenase in Arthrobacter fluorescens exhibited an allosteric behaviour and two K _m values for ammonium were estimated. In batch cultures at different ammonium concentrations and in continuous culture following an NH₄ ⁺ pulse, the level of ADH activity seems to be regulated by the ammonium concentration, high activities being observed when extracellular ammonium was in excess. The response to the growth rate of an ammonium-limited chemostat culture of A. fluorescens seems to indicate that alanine dehydrogenase and glutamine synthetase activities were inversely related. High activities of glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase and glutamate pyruvate transaminase have been found in crude extract of ammonium-limited cultures. From the results obtained in batch cultures grown at different glucose concentrations and in carbon-limited chemostat culture it appeared that the limitation by glucose influenced alanine dehydrogenase activity negatively. No glutamate dehydrogenase activity and no glutamate synthase activity could be detected with either NADH or NADPH as coenzymes.Abbreviations ADH alanine dehydrogenase - GS glutamine synthetase - GDH glutamate dehydrogenase - GOGAT glutamine oxoglutarate aminotransferase - GOT glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase - GPT glutamate pyruvate transaminase     

Chemostat culture characterization of Escherichia coli mutant strains metabolically engineered for aerobic succinate production: a study of the modified metabolic network based on metabolite profile, enzyme activity, and gene expression profile

Various Escherichia coli mutant strains designed for succinate production under aerobic conditions were characterized in chemostat. The metabolite profiles, enzyme activities, and gene expression profiles were studied to better understand the metabolic network operating in these mutant strains. The most efficient succinate producing mutant strain HL27659k was able to achieve a succinate yield of 0.91 mol/mol glucose at a dilution rate of 0.1/h. This strain has the five following mutations: sdhAB, (ackA-pta), poxB, iclR, and ptsG. Four other strains involved in this study were HL2765k, HL276k, HL2761k, and HL51276k. Strain HL2765k has mutations in sdhAB, (ackA-pta), poxB and iclR, strain HL276k has mutations in sdhAB, (ackA-pta) and poxB, strain HL2761k has mutations in sdhAB, (ackA-pta), poxB and icd, and strain HL51276k has mutations in iclR, icd, sdhAB, (ackA-pta) and poxB. Enzyme activity data showed strain HL27659k has substantially higher citrate synthase and malate dehydrogenase activities than the other four strains. The data also showed that only iclR mutation strains exhibited isocitrate lyase and malate synthase activities. Gene expression profiles also complemented the studies of enzyme activity and metabolites from chemostat cultures. The results showed that the succinate synthesis pathways engineered in strain HL27659k were highly efficient, yielding succinate as the only major product produced under aerobic conditions. Strain HL27659k was the only strain without pyruvate accumulation, and its acetate production was the least among all the mutant strains examined.