Glucose Dehydrogenation in Bacteria: a Comparative Study

Hauge, Jens G. (National Institute for Public Health, Oslo, Norway). Glucose dehydrogenation in bacteria: a comparative study. J. Bacteriol. 82:609-614. 1961.-Extracts of a series of bacteria reported to convert glucose to gluconic acid via particulate enzyme systems were fractionated by differential centrifugation into heavy particles, light particles, and particle-free supernatant. Particles from Acetobacter suboxydans, Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Bacterium anitratum had several features in common, notably a high activity with indophenol as acceptor and no significant activity with methylene blue, tetrazolium, diphosphopyridine nucleotide, or triphosphopyridine nucleotide. The pH optima with indophenol were lower than those with oxygen as acceptor. These features are in line with the hypothesis that the particles of these organisms oxidize glucose with a tightly bound niacinamide coenzyme as primary acceptor.A triphosphopyridine nucleotide-linked glucose dehydrogenase was found present in the supernatant fraction of P. fluorescens.Azotobacter vinelandii and Aerobacter aerogenes particles oxidized glucose to a measurable degree with oxygen as acceptor only.