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. 1987 Oct;84(20):7129–7133. doi: 10.1073/pnas.84.20.7129

Products of Leishmania braziliensis glucose catabolism: release of D-lactate and, under anaerobic conditions, glycerol.

T N Darling 1, D G Davis 1, R E London 1, J J Blum 1
PMCID: PMC299243  PMID: 3478686

Abstract

Leishmania braziliensis panamensis promastigotes were incubated with glucose as the sole carbon source. About one-fifth of the glucose consumed under aerobic conditions was oxidized to CO2. Nuclear magnetic resonance studies with [1-13C]glucose showed that the other products released were succinate, acetate, alanine, pyruvate, and lactate. Under anaerobic conditions, lactate output increased, glycerol became a major product, and, surprisingly, glucose consumption decreased. Enzymatic assays showed that the lactate formed was D(-)-lactate. The release of alanine during incubation with glucose as the sole carbon source suggested that appreciable proteolysis occurred, consistent with our observation that a large amount of ammonia was released under these conditions. The discoveries that D-lactate is a product of L. braziliensis glucose catabolism, that glycerol is produced under anaerobic conditions, and that the cells exhibit a "reverse" Pasteur effect open the way for detailed studies of the pathways of glucose metabolism and their regulation in this organism.

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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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