CONVERSION OF GLUCOSE-C14 TO PROPIONATE BY THE RUMEN MICROBIOTA.

Baldwin, R. L. (Michigan State University, East Lansing), W. A. Wood, and R. S. Emery. Conversion of glucose-C(14) to propionate by the rumen microbiota. J. Bacteriol 85:1346-1349. 1963.-Rumen microbiota enriched on three different diets calculated to present different levels of available carbohydrate were incubated with glucose-1-C(14), glucose-2-C(14), and glucose-6-C(14) to determine the contribution of the randomizing (succinate) and nonrandomizing (acrylate) routes to propionate. The propionate was labeled as though 70 to 100% was formed via the randomizing route and 0 to 30% via the nonrandomizing route. The contribution of the acrylate pathway increased with higher carbohydrate availability of the diet. These results are discussed with respect to earlier data using lactate-2-C(14) and lactate-3-C(14), and a unifying concept for both sets of data is presented.