Abstract
The biosynthesis of the 3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV) monomer of polyhydroxyalkanoate by Rhodococcus ruber from succinic acid was investigated using nuclear magnetic resonance analysis. Polymer produced from [2,3-13C]- and [1,4-13C]succinate showed that the C-1-C-2 and C-4-C-5 fragments of 3HV were derived from carbons 2 and 3 of succinate, essentially without bond cleavage, and carbon 3 of 3HV was derived from a carboxyl carbon of succinate. Using [1,2-13C]succinate it was demonstrated that the C-1-C-2 bond of succinate was cleaved during polymer biosynthesis. Methylmalonyl-coenzyme A (CoA) mutase activity was detected in cell-free extracts of R. ruber by enzyme assay and HPLC analysis of reaction products. A pathway, involving the known methylmalonyl-CoA pathway for propionate formation in Propionibacteria, followed by the established pathway for PHA biosynthesis from propionyl-CoA and acetyl-CoA, is proposed for the biosynthesis of 3HV from succinate by R. ruber.
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Correspondence to: A. J. Anderson
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Williams, D.R., Anderson, A.J., Dawes, E.A. et al. Production of a co-polyester of 3-hydroxybutyric acid and 3-hydroxyvaleric acid from succinic acid by Rhodococcus ruber: biosynthetic considerations. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 40, 717–723 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00173334
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00173334