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. 1966 Mar;98(3):795–803. doi: 10.1042/bj0980795

The route of ethanol formation in Zymomonas mobilis

E A Dawes 1,*, D W Ribbons 1,†, P J Large 1,*
PMCID: PMC1264921  PMID: 4287842

Abstract

1. Enzymic evidence supporting the operation of the Entner–Doudoroff pathway in the anaerobic conversion of glucose into ethanol and carbon dioxide by Zymomonas mobilis is presented. 2. Cell extracts catalysed the formation of equimolar amounts of pyruvate and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate from 6-phosphogluconate. Evidence that 3-deoxy-2-oxo-6-phosphogluconate is an intermediate in this conversion was obtained. 3. Cell extracts of the organism contained the following enzymes: glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (active with NAD and NADP), ethanol dehydrogenase (active with NAD), glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (active with NAD), hexokinase, gluconokinase, glucose dehydrogenase and pyruvate decarboxylase. Extracts also catalysed the overall conversion of glycerate 3-phosphate into pyruvate in the presence of ADP. 4. Gluconate dehydrogenase, fructose 1,6-diphosphate aldolase and NAD–NADP transhydrogenase were not detected. 5. It is suggested that NAD is the physiological electron carrier in the balanced oxidation–reduction involved in ethanol formation.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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