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. 1994 Apr;60(4):1249–1253. doi: 10.1128/aem.60.4.1249-1253.1994

Identification, Biosynthesis, and Function of 1,3,4,6-Hexanetetracarboxylic Acid in Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum ΔH

Alexander Gorkovenko 1, Mary F Roberts 1,*, Robert H White 2
PMCID: PMC201466  PMID: 16349232

Abstract

An unusual compound, 1,3,4,6-hexanetetracarboxylic acid, was identified by 1H and 13C two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry as one of the major components of the small-molecule pool in Methanobacterium thermoautotrophicum ΔH under optimal conditions of cell growth. Incorporation of 13C- and 2H-labeled acetates was consistent with the biosynthesis of this tetracarboxylic acid from α-ketoglutarate, two molecules of acetyl-coenzyme A, and one molecule of CO2, as established for the tetracarboxylic acid moiety of methanofuran. 13CO2 pulse- 12CO2 chase methodology was used to establish the turnover rate for this compound. In contrast to the two other major solutes in this bacterium, cyclic 2,3-diphosphoglycerate and glutamate, which are key metabolic intermediates, this free tetracarboxylic acid was metabolically inactive, with a half-life that exceeded the cell doubling time. Hence, this molecular pool cannot serve as a metabolic intermediate in cell biosynthesis. The functional role of free tetracarboxylate as a conservative part of a system that maintains high positive internal osmotic pressure in this bacterium is proposed.

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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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