Abstract
A gram-positive, mesophilic bacterium which assimilated l-phenylalanine but which failed to utilise l-tyrosine was isolated from soil. The isolate, identified as a strain of Bacillus carotarum, converted l-phenylalanine to phenylpyruvate with the initial step catalysed by an inducible, intracellular enzyme which possessed l-phenylalanine oxidase activity. Phenylalanine oxidase has not been previously reported in Gram-positive bacteria, although there are a few examples of non-specific l-amino acid oxidases with activity towards l-phenylalanine. The isolate grew abundantly on complex media but failed to synthesise significant amounts of the enzyme in the absence of l-phenylalanine. The highest enzyme levels were achieved in a chemically defined minimal salts medium containing the amino acid at 10 g/l as the primary carbon and energy source.
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Brearley, G.M., Price, C.P., Atkinson, T. et al. Isolation, identification and characterisation of a soil bacterium producing an enzyme with l-phenylalanine oxidase activity. Arch. Microbiol. 161, 409–413 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00288951
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00288951