This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by DeMoll, E Articles by Auffenberg, T Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by DeMoll, E Articles by Auffenberg, T

research-article

Purine metabolism in Methanococcus vannielii.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Chandler Medical Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40536-0084.

ABSTRACT

Methanococcus vannielii is capable of degrading purines to the extent that each of these purines may serve as the sole nitrogen source for growth. Results presented here demonstrate that purine degradation by M. vannielii is accomplished by a route similar to that described for clostridia. Various characteristics of the purine-degrading pathway of M. vannielii are described. Additionally, it is shown that M. vannielii does not extensively degrade exogenously supplied guanine if that compound is present at levels near or lower than those required to supply the cellular guanine requirement. Under those conditions, M. vannielii incorporates the intact guanine molecule into its guanine nucleotide pool. The benefits of a purine-degrading pathway to methanogens are discussed.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Schultz, A. C., Nygaard, P., Saxild, H. H. (2001). Functional Analysis of 14 Genes That Constitute the Purine Catabolic Pathway in Bacillus subtilis and Evidence for a Novel Regulon Controlled by the PucR Transcription Activator. J. Bacteriol. 183: 3293-3302 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Nygaard, P., Bested, S. M., Andersen, K. A. K., Saxild, H. H. (2000). Bacillus subtilis guanine deaminase is encoded by the yknA gene and is induced during growth with purines as the nitrogen source. Microbiology 146: 3061-3069 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Stuer-Lauridsen, B., Nygaard, P. (1998). Purine Salvage in Two Halophilic Archaea: Characterization of Salvage Pathways and Isolation of Mutants Resistant to Purine Analogs. J. Bacteriol. 180: 457-463 [Abstract] [Full Text]