The Pathway of Glucose Catabolism in Sporocytophaga myxococcoides

The pathway of glucose metabolism in Sporocytophaga myxococcoides was studied by a radiorespirometric technique and assays of enzyme activity in cell-free extracts. The primary catabolic pathways in the organism were examined by measurement of relative rates of 14CO2-production from different carbon atoms of labelled glucose, pyruvic acid and acetic acid. These substrates appeared to be degraded solely by enzymes of the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway in conjunction with the tricarboxylic acid cycle. The results were confirmed by studies of enzyme activity, which showed a lack of two enzymes, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (D-glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, EC. 1.1.1.49) and 6-phospho-gluconate dehydrogenase [6-phospho-D-gluconate: NADP oxidoreductase (decarboxylating), EC. 1.1.1.44], in the pentose pathway, which indicated a biosynthetic function of the non-oxidative part of this pathway.