Abstract
Stodola and Lockwood1, and Kluyver, De Ley and Rijven2, demonstrated that several species of Pseudomonas are able to oxidize maltose and lactose to the corresponding malto- and lacto-bionic acid, by oxidation of the reducing group of the disaccharide, without breaking the oxygen bridge. Some strains of Pseudomonas consume the calcium salt of these acids slowly2. Pseudomonas is a common surface inhabitant of several natural waters, so it is likely that under these natural conditions these cells may convert maltose from polysaccharides (formation of lactose is improbable) into the corresponding acid. It seemed to be of interest to ascertain what kind of microorganisms are endowed with the ability to consume maltobionate, with the view of getting an idea of the importance of this decomposition process in Nature. Lactobionate was included in view of a future study of the enzymatic mechanism of its breakdown.
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References
Stodola, F., and Lockwood, L., J. Biol. Chem., 171, 213 (1947).
Kluyver, A. J., De Ley, J., and Rijven, A., Ant. v. Leeuwenhoek J. Microb. Serol., 17, 1 (1951).
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BERNAERTS, M., LEY, J. Microbiological Decomposition of Malto- and Lacto-bionate. Nature 170, 713 (1952). https://doi.org/10.1038/170713a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/170713a0
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