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Unusual pathway of isoleucine biosynthesis in Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum

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Abstract

Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum was grown on H2 and CO2 in a medium supplemented with [U-14C]threonine. Surprisingly, only threonine and not isoleucine in the cell protein became labelled indicating that the usual pathway of isoleucine biosynthesis via threonine is not operative in this anaerobic archaebacterium. Labelling studies with [1-14C]pyruvate, [2-14C]pyruvate and [1,4-14C]-succinate succinate revealed that isoleucine is probably synthesized from pyruvate and acetyl-CoA via citramalate as an intermediate.

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Eikmanns, B., Linder, D. & Thauer, R.K. Unusual pathway of isoleucine biosynthesis in Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum . Arch. Microbiol. 136, 111–113 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00404783

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00404783

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