THE PROPIONIC ACID BACTERIA

The Aerobic Dissimilation of Lactic Acid by the Propionic Acid Bacteria.

The hydrogen reacts with lactic acid to form propionic acid. Pyruvic acid has been isolated from the fermentation of glucose (1934) and of lactic acid (unpublished data) by Wood and Werkman. These investigators supported Van Niel's proposed dissimilation of pyruvic acid inasmuch as the occurrence of acetaldehyde could not be demonstrated. Little information is available concerning the aerobic d...

Microbial Propionic Acid Production

Propionic acid (propionate) is a commercially valuable carboxylic acid produced through microbial fermentation. Propionic acid is mainly used in the food industry but has recently found applications in the cosmetic, plastics and pharmaceutical industries. Propionate can be produced via various metabolic pathways, which can be classified into three major groups: fermentative pathways, biosynthet...

The utilisation of CO(2) in the dissimilation of glycerol by the propionic acid bacteria.

This paper by Wood and Werkman is truly outstanding. First, it is a classical example of determination of the path of a fermentation by careful quantitative analyses of substrates consumed and products formed. Second and most importantly, the results led to the discovery of CO2 fixation by heterotrophic bacteria. The dogma at the time the work was done and as expressed in textbooks held that on...

Bioassay-Guided Isolation and Characterisation of Antifungal Metabolites Studies of Lactic Acid Bacteria and Propionic Acid Bacteria

The Propionic Acid Bacteria on the Mechanism of Glucose Dissimilation* by H. G. Wood

The fundamental investigations of Virtanen (1923, 1925), Virtanen and Karstrom (1931), and van Niel (1928) on the mechanism of glucose dissimilation by the propionic acid bacteria have led to the proposal that glucose after preliminary phosphorylation is converted into 2 molecules of the C) type. Virtanen upon theoretical considerations concludes that lactic acid is an intermediate product of t...