Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1967 Jan;93(1):168–176. doi: 10.1128/jb.93.1.168-176.1967

Induction by l-Tryptophan and an Analogue, α-Methyl-dl-Tryptophan, of the Enzymes Catabolizing l-Tryptophan in Pseudomonas

G C Tremblay a,1, J A Gottlieb a,2, W E Knox a
PMCID: PMC314985  PMID: 6020404

Abstract

An investigation was made of the pattern of induction of the enzymes that metabolize l-tryptophan through kynurenic acid (the quinoline pathway) in Pseudomonas fluorescens. The first four enzymes in the pathway were not induced in the same proportions or in the same time courses. This lack of coordinate induction excludes a mechanism of regulation of these enzymes at a single site as proposed in the operon model. The enzymes were induced in a sequential pattern in the order of their position on the pathway, when they became the limiting reactions. The nonmetabolizable analogue, α-methyl-dl-tryptophan, caused a measurable elevation in the levels of the first three enzymes of the same pathway. Evidence is presented that growth of the cells in the presence of α-methyl-dl-tryptophan caused the accumulation of endogenous tryptophan, and that induction by the nonmetabolizable analogue is induction by the endogenous tryptophan.

Full text

PDF
168

Selected References

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

  1. GREENGARD O. TRYPTOPHAN ANALOGUES AND THE MECHANISM OF INDUCTION OF RAT-LIVER TRYPTOPHAN PYRROLASE, IN VIVO. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1964 Jun 1;85:492–494. doi: 10.1016/0926-6569(64)90315-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. HAYAISHI O., STANIER R. Y. The bacterial oxidation of tryptophan. III. Enzymatic activities of cell-free extracts from bacteria employing the aromatic pathway. J Bacteriol. 1951 Dec;62(6):691–709. doi: 10.1128/jb.62.6.691-709.1951. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. JACOB F., MONOD J. Genetic regulatory mechanisms in the synthesis of proteins. J Mol Biol. 1961 Jun;3:318–356. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(61)80072-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. JEPSON J. B. Paper chromatography of urinary indoles. Lancet. 1955 Nov 12;269(6898):1009–1011. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(55)93432-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. PALLERONI N. J., STANIER R. Y. REGULATORY MECHANISMS GOVERNING SYNTHESIS OF THE ENZYMES FOR TRYPTOPHAN OXIDATION BY PSEUDOMONAS FLUORESCENS. J Gen Microbiol. 1964 May;35:319–334. doi: 10.1099/00221287-35-2-319. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. SANKOFF I., SOURKES T. L. The weight-depressing action of alpha-methyl-DL-tryptophan in the rat. Can J Biochem Physiol. 1962 Jun;40:739–747. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. SCHLESINGER S., MAGASANIK B. EFFECT OF ALPHA-METHYLHISTIDINE ON THE CONTROL OF HISTIDINE SYNTHESIS. J Mol Biol. 1964 Sep;9:670–682. doi: 10.1016/s0022-2836(64)80174-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. STANIER R. Y. Enzymatic adaptation in bacteria. Annu Rev Microbiol. 1951;5:35–56. doi: 10.1146/annurev.mi.05.100151.000343. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. STANIER R. Y., HAYAISHI O., TSUCHIDA M. The bacterial oxidation of tryptophan. I. A general survey of the pathways. J Bacteriol. 1951 Oct;62(4):355–366. doi: 10.1128/jb.62.4.355-366.1951. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Stanier R. Y. Simultaneous Adaptation: A New Technique for the Study of Metabolic Pathways. J Bacteriol. 1947 Sep;54(3):339–348. doi: 10.1128/jb.54.3.339-348.1947. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Stanier R. Y., Tsuchida M. ADAPTIVE ENZYMATIC PATTERNS IN THE BACTERIAL OXIDATION OF TRYPTOPHAN. J Bacteriol. 1949 Jul;58(1):45–60. doi: 10.1128/jb.58.1.45-60.1949. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. TANAKA T., KNOX W. E. The nature and mechanism of the tryptophan pyrrolase (peroxidase-oxidase) reaction of Pseudomonas and of rat liver. J Biol Chem. 1959 May;234(5):1162–1170. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. TANIUCHI H., HAYAISHI O. Studies on the metabolism of kynurenic acid. III. Enzymatic formation of 7,8-dihydroxykynurenic acid from kynurenic acid. J Biol Chem. 1963 Jan;238:283–293. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Bacteriology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES