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. 1972 Feb;109(2):626–632. doi: 10.1128/jb.109.2.626-632.1972

Fermentation of Fructose and Synthesis of Acetate from Carbon Dioxide by Clostridium formicoaceticum1

W E O'Brien a,2, Lars G Ljungdahl a
PMCID: PMC285186  PMID: 5058446

Abstract

Clostridium formicoaceticum ferments fructose labeled with 14C in carbon 1, 4, 5, or 6 via the Embden Meyerhof pathway. In fermentations of fructose in the presence of 14CO2, acetate is formed labeled equally in both carbons. Extracts convert the methyl groups of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and methyl-B12 to the methyl group of acetate in the presence of pyruvate. Formate dehydrogenase, 10-formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase, 5,10-methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase, 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase, and 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase are present in extracts of C. formicoaceticum. These enzymes are needed for the conversion of CO2 to 5-methyltetrahydrofolate. It is proposed that acetate is totally synthesized from CO2 via the reactions catalyzed by the enzymes listed above and that 5-methyltetra-hydrofolate and a methylcorrinoid are intermediates in this synthesis.

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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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