THE NATURE OF THE COENZYME OF ASPARTIC ACID, SERINE, AND THREONINE DEAMINASES

Abstract

By means of paper strip chromatography a substance or substances which were separated from yeast extract activated the deaminases of aspartic acid, serine, and threonine. The material was not adenylic acid or biotin as such, and from the nature of the stimulations obtained, it was concluded that this fraction contained the coenzymes of these reactions. From the position on the chromatogram it was probable that they were chemically similar or identical. Although the coenzyme fraction was not pure, it was purified with respect to free biotin. This fraction supported the growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Java) in a biotin-deficient medium, and upon hydrolysis biotin was made available to S. cerevisiae (139), which did not respond to the un-hydrolyzed material.