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Carbohydrate and amino acid metabolism in Tuber borchii mycelium during glucose utilization: a (13)C NMR study.

The metabolism of [1-13C]glucose in the vegetative mycelium of the ectomycorrhizal ascomycete Tuber borchii was studied in order to characterize the biochemical pathways for the assimilation of glucose and amino acid biosynthesis. The pathways were characterized using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in conjunction with [1-13C]glucose labeling. The enzymes of mannitol cycle and ammonium assimilation were also evaluated. The majority of the 13C label was incorporated into mannitol and this polyol was formed via a direct route from absorbed glucose. Amino acid biosynthesis was also an important sink of assimilated carbon and 13C was mainly incorporated into alanine and glutamate. From this intramolecular 13C enrichment, it is concluded that pyruvate, arising from [1-13C]glucose catabolism, was used by alanine aminotransferase, pyruvate dehydrogenase and pyruvate carboxylase before entering the Krebs cycle. The transfer of 13C-labeled mycelium on [12C]glucose showed that mannitol, alanine, and glutamate carbon were used to synthesize glutamine and arginine that likely play a storage role.

Amino Acids↗

Decreased expression of genes involved in sulfur amino acid metabolism in frataxin-deficient cells.

Inherited deficiency of the mitochondrial protein frataxin causes neural and cardiac cell degeneration, and Friedreich's ataxia. Five hypotheses for frataxin's mitochondrial function have been generated, largely from work in non-human cells: iron transporter, iron-sulfur cluster assembler, iron-storage protein, antioxidant and stimulator of oxidative phosphorylation. We analyzed gene expression in three human cell types using microarrays, and identified just 48 transcripts whose expression was significantly frataxin-dependent in at least two cell types. Significant decreases in seven transcripts occurred in the sulfur amino acid (SAA) biosynthetic pathway and the iron-sulfur cluster (ISC) biosynthetic pathway to which it is connected. By contrast, we did not observe a single frataxin-dependent transcript that fits with the other four current hypotheses. Quantitative reverse-transcriptase PCR analysis of ISC-S and rhodanese transcripts confirmed that the expression of these genes involved in ISC metabolism was lower in mutants. Amino acid analysis confirmed the defect in SAA metabolism: homocystine, cysteine, cystathionine and serine were significantly decreased in frataxin-deficient cell extracts and mitochondria. An ISC defect was further confirmed by observing decreases in succinate dehydrogenase and aconitase activities, whose activities require ISCs. The ISC-U scaffold protein was specifically decreased in frataxin-deficient cells, suggesting a role for frataxin in its expression or maintenance, and sodium sulfide partially rescued the oxidant-sensitivity of the FRDA cells. Also, multiple transcripts involved in the Fas/TNF/INF apoptosis pathway were up-regulated in frataxin-deficient cells, consistent with a multi-step mechanism of Friedreich's ataxia pathophysiology, and suggesting alternative possibilities for therapeutic intervention.

Amino Acids, Sulfur↗

Functional analysis of gapped microbial genomes: amino acid metabolism of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans.

A gapped genome sequence of the biomining bacterium Thiobacillus ferrooxidans strain ATCC23270 was assembled from sheared DNA fragments (3.2-times coverage) into 1,912 contigs. A total of 2,712 potential genes (ORFs) were identified in 2.6 Mbp (megabase pairs) of Thiobacillus genomic sequence. Of these genes, 2,159 could be assigned functions by using the WIT-Pro/EMP genome analysis system, most with a high degree of certainty. Nine hundred of the genes have been assigned roles in metabolic pathways, producing an overview of cellular biosynthesis, bioenergetics, and catabolism. Sequence similarities, relative gene positions on the chromosome, and metabolic reconstruction (placement of gene products in metabolic pathways) were all used to aid gene assignments and for development of a functional overview. Amino acid biosynthesis was chosen to demonstrate the analytical capabilities of this approach. Only 10 expected enzymatic activities, of the nearly 150 involved in the biosynthesis of all 20 amino acids, are currently unassigned in the Thiobacillus genome. This result compares favorably with 10 missing genes for amino acid biosynthesis in the complete Escherichia coli genome. Gapped genome analysis can therefore give a decent picture of the central metabolism of a microorganism, equivalent to that of a complete sequence, at significantly lower cost.

Amino Acids↗