Bacterial Degradation of Choline

Abstract

DURING work on the production of trimethylamine by organisms isolated from the flora of the whale, it was found that some types were able to produce this substance from choline¹. Similar observations on organisms from other sources had been made previously, the products of the degradation of choline characterized as trimethylamine and ethylene glycol, and the enzyme responsible named ‘choline deaminase’². No kinetic information was available, nor had the specificity of the enzyme been determined, though it had been reported that certain Enterobacteriaceæ produce trimethylamine from acetylcholine but not from betaine³, so investigation of these questions seemed likely to prove fruitful.