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Synthesis of Pulcherriminic Acid by Bacillus subtilis

^a Department of Microbiology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01002

ABSTRACT

The pathway of pulcherriminic acid synthesis in Bacillus subtilis strains AM and AM-L11 (a leucine-requiring auxotroph) was investigated. Determinations of radioactivity in pulcherriminic acid synthesized by cells growing in media containing ¹⁴C-labeled amino acids indicated that B. subtilis produced pulcherriminic acid from L-leucine. The organism utilized the carbon skeletons of two L-leucine molecules to synthesize one molecule of pulcherriminic acid. Similar results were obtained with starved cell suspensions. Growing cells formed significant amounts of pulcherriminic acid only in media including a carbohydrate such as starch. However, carbohydrate carbon was not required for the synthesis of pulcherriminic acid molecules. Data obtained with cell suspensions supported the hypothesis that cyclo-L-leucyl-L-leucyl is an intermediate in pulcherriminic acid biosynthesis and indicated that molecular oxygen is required for the conversion of cyclo-L-leucyl-L-leucyl to pulcherriminic acid. A pathway for the synthesis of pulcherrimin from L-leucine in B. subtilis is proposed.

¹ Present address: Department of Microbiology and Public Health, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Mich. 48823.

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