The metabolism of glyoxylate by cell-free extracts of Pseudomonas sp.

1. Extracts of Pseudomonas sp. grown on butane-2,3-diol oxidized glyoxylate to carbon dioxide, some of the glyoxylate being reduced to glycollate in the process. The oxidation of malate and isocitrate, but not the oxidation of pyruvate, can be coupled to the reduction of glyoxylate to glycollate by the extracts. 2. Extracts of cells grown on butane-2,3-diol decarboxylated oxaloacetate to pyruvate, which was then converted aerobically or anaerobically into lactate, acetyl-coenzyme A and carbon dioxide. The extracts could also convert pyruvate into alanine. However, pyruvate is not an intermediate in the metabolism of glyoxylate since no lactate or alanine could be detected in the reaction products and no labelled pyruvate could be obtained when extracts were incubated with [1-(14)C]glyoxylate. 3. The (14)C was incorporated from [1-(14)C]glyoxylate by cell-free extracts into carbon dioxide, glycollate, glycine, glutamate and, in trace amounts, into malate, isocitrate and alpha-oxoglutarate. The (14)C was initially incorporated into isocitrate at the same rate as into glycine. 4. The rate of glyoxylate utilization was increased by the addition of succinate, alpha-oxoglutarate or citrate, and in each case alpha-oxoglutarate became labelled. 5. The results are consistent with the suggestion that the carbon dioxide arises by the oxidation of glyoxylate via reactions catalysed respectively by isocitratase, isocitrate dehydrogenase and alpha-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase.