Aspects of the Conversion of Glucose to α-Ketoglutarate in Acetobacter melanogenum

Abstract

GLUCOSE oxidation in extracts of Acetobacter melanogenum has been shown to result in the formation of pyruvate¹ through reactions involving the pentose phosphate cycle and the Entner–Doudoroff splitting reaction²; glucose is also oxidized to 2,5-diketogluconate³ and then to α-ketoglutarate⁴. In a previous paper⁵, evidence was given for the functioning of only certain portions of the tricarboxylic acid cycle in A. melanogenum. It was also shown that these cells did not synthesize four carbon compounds from one-, two- or three-carbon precursors. It was, therefore, of interest to study the contribution of the various pathways in the synthesis of α-ketoglutarate from glucose in washed cell suspensions of A. melanogenum.