Oxidation of Secondary Alcohols by Extracts of a Corynebacterium.

Rosenberg, Eugene (University of California, Los Angeles), and Paul Holmes. Oxidation of secondary alcohols by extracts of a Corynebacterium. J. Bacteriol. 89:1212-1216. 1965.-A Corynebacterium was isolated from soil by use of the enrichment culture technique. This Corynebacterium oxidized and grew on the chemically synthesized secondary alcohol, 3-tetrahydrofuranol. Extracts of this organism contained at least two different nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-requiring soluble secondary alcohol dehydrogenases. These enzymes were distinguished by the relative rates at which they oxidized thymidylic acid and 3-tetrahydrofuranol. In addition to their substrate specificity, the two enzymes differed in pH optima and thermal stability. Also, the 3-tetrahydrofuranol dehydrogenase was induced by 3-tetrahydrofuranol, whereas the thymidylic acid dehydrogenase was constitutive.