Bifunctional malic/malolactic enzyme provides a novel mechanism for NADPH balancing in microbes

ABSTRACT: The redox cofactor NADPH is required as a reducing equivalent in about 100 anabolic reactions throughout metabolism. To ensure fitness in all conditions, the demand is fulfilled by a handful of dehydrogenases in central carbon metabolism that reduce NADP+ with electrons derived from catabolism of nutrients. In the case of Bacillus subtilis growing on glucose, quantitative flux analyses indicate that NADPH production largely exceed biosynthetic need, suggesting a hitherto unknown mechanism for NADPH balancing. We investigated the role of the four malic enzymes present in B. subtilis, which could bring about a metabolic cycle for transhydrogenation of NADPH into NADH. Using quantitative 13C metabolic flux analysis, we found that isoform YtsJ alone contributes to NADPH balancing in vivo and d

ORGANISM(S): Bacillus subtilis

SUBMITTER: Hörl 

PROVIDER: S-BSST566 | biostudies-other |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other