New pathway for the metabolism of pentitols.

Certain strains of Lactobacillus casei can grow at the expense of one or more pentitols. These microorganisms possess a pentitol phosphate pathway that appears to be analogous to the hexitol phosphate pathway found in many facultatively anaerobic bacteria. Pentitol is transported into the cell by a phospho enolpyruvate phosphotransferase system that converts it to pentitol phosphate, whereupon a specific dehydrogenase oxidizes the intermediate product to ketopentose phosphate. The ketopentose phosphate is subsequently converted to xylulose-5-P and enters one of the pathways of central metabolism.