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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, January 2000, p. 246-251, Vol. 66, No. 1
Center for Molecular BioEngineering,
Department of Biological and Agricultural
Engineering,1 and Department of
Microbiology,2 University of Georgia, Athens,
Georgia 30602
Received 16 August 1999/Accepted 20 October 1999
Based on the presence and absence of enzyme activities, the
biochemical pathways for the fermentation of inulin by
Clostridium thermosuccinogenes DSM 5809 are proposed.
Activities of nine enzymes (lactate dehydrogenase, phosphoenolpyruvate
carboxylase, malate dehydrogenase, fumarase, fumarate reductase,
phosphotransacetylase, acetate kinase, pyruvate kinase, and alcohol
dehydrogenase) were measured at four temperatures (37, 47, 58, and
70°C). Each of the enzymes increased 1.5 to 2.0-fold in activity
between 37 and 58°C, but only lactate dehydrogenase, fumarate
reductase, malate dehydrogenase, and fumarase increased at a similar
rate between 58 and 70°C. No acetate kinase activity was observed at
70°C. Arrhenius energies were calculated for each of these nine
enzymes and were in the range of 9.8 to 25.6 kcal/mol. To determine if a relationship existed between product formation and enzyme activity, serum bottle fermentations were completed at the four temperatures. Maximum yields (in moles per mole hexose unit) for succinate (0.23) and
acetate (0.79) and for biomass (29.5 g/mol hexose unit) occurred at
58°C, whereas the maximum yields for lactate (0.19) and hydrogen (0.25) and the lowest yields for acetate (0.03) and biomass (19.2 g/mol
hexose unit) were observed at 70°C. The ratio of oxidized products to
reduced products changed significantly, from 0.52 to 0.65, with an
increase in temperature from 58 to 70°C, and there was an unexplained
detection of increased reduced products (ethanol, lactate, and
hydrogen) with a concomitant decrease in oxidized-product formation at
the higher temperature.
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Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Elucidation of Enzymes in Fermentation Pathways
Used by Clostridium thermosuccinogenes Growing on
Inulin
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: 408 Driftmier
Engineering Center, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602. Phone:
(706) 542-0833. Fax: (706) 542-8806. E-mail:
eiteman{at}bae.uga.edu.
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