THE ANAEROBIC DISSIMILATION OFD-GLUCOSE-1-C14,D-ARABINOSE-1-C14, ANDL-ARABINOSE-1-C14BYAEROBACTER AEROGENES

Abstract

D-Glucose-1-C¹⁴, D-arabinose-1-C¹⁴, and L-arabinose-1-C¹⁴were dissimilated anaerobically by Aerobacter aerogenes. The major products (2,3-butanediol, ethanol, acetic acid, lactic acid, formic acid, and carbon dioxide) were isolated and the location of C¹⁴determined. The products from glucose were all labeled, mainly in the methyl groups, in agreement with the hypothesis that they were derived from methyl-labeled pyruvate formed by the reactions of the classical Embden–Meyerhof scheme for glycolysis. The products from both pentoses appeared to have been formed from pyruvate labeled in both the methyl and carboxyl groups with twice as much C¹⁴in the methyl group as in the carboxyl group. This result may be explained quantitatively by a hypothesis assuming complete conversion of pentose to triose via a heptulose.