The glucose catabolism of the genus Brucella: I. Evaluation of pathways

The glucose catobolism of representative strains of the genus Brucella has been examined using the radiorespirometric technique. The radiorespirometric data fit two model systems: (1) operation of the hexosemonophosphate (HMP) pathway in conjunction with the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle and (2) concurrent operation of the HMP and Entner-Doudoroff (ED) pathways in conjunction with the TCA cycle. Only quantitative differences were observed among the species or between attenuated and virulent strains of Brucella abortus. The distribution and incorporation of d-glucose- 14C into pyruvate isolated from culture supernatants of arsenite-poisoned cells and alanine isolated from cell hydrolysates suggested the absence of C 3—C 3 cleavage as would be expected from either the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas (EMP) pathway or the ED pathway. Trapping experiments with large amounts of “cold” acetate eliminated the heterolactic fermentation mechanism.