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Glycine fermentation via a glycine reductase in Peptococcus glycinophilus and Peptococcus magnus

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Abstract

Peptococcus glycinophilus and P. magnus (P. variabilis) utilized only glycine-containing compounds for growth and required selenium compounds for the fermentation of glycine in an optimized medium. Under these conditions an active glycine reductase was expressed in vivo as demonstrated for both species by tracer experiments and additionally in vitro for P. glycinophilus in cell extracts. It is concluded that the availability of selenium determines the fermentation pathway of glycine. In the presence of selenite glycine is converted via the glycine reductase rather than the hitherto known glycine-serine-pyruvate interconversion. The molar growth yield of P. magnus was determined to be 8.9 g of dry weight per mol of glycine. The significance of the low vitamin B12 content and a low carbon monoxide dehydrogenase activity in P. glycinophilus for the reduction of CO2 to acetate is discussed.

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  1. Peter Dürre

    Present address: Department of Biochemistry, University of California, 94720, Berkeley, CA, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Mikrobiologie der Universität Göttingen, Grisebachstr. 8, D-3400, Göttingen, Germany

    Peter Dürre, Rolf Spahr & Jan R. Andreesen

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  1. Peter Dürre
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  2. Rolf Spahr
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  3. Jan R. Andreesen
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Dürre, P., Spahr, R. & Andreesen, J.R. Glycine fermentation via a glycine reductase in Peptococcus glycinophilus and Peptococcus magnus . Arch. Microbiol. 134, 127–135 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00407945

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00407945

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