In pyrophosphate-dependent glycolysis, the ATP/ADP-dependent enzymes phosphofructokinase (PFK) and pyruvate kinase are replaced by the pyrophosphate-dependent PFK and pyruvate phosphate dikinase (PPDK), respectively. This variant of glycolysis is widespread among bacteria, but it also occurs in a few parasitic anaerobic eukaryotes such as Giardia and Entamoeba spp. We sequenced two genes for PP...

Ank is a multipass transmembrane protein that regulates the cellular transport of inorganic pyrophosphate. In the progressive ankylosis (ank) mouse, a premature termination mutation at glutamic acid 440 results in a phenotype characterized by inappropriate deposition of basic calcium phosphate crystals in skeletal tissues. Mutations in the amino terminus of ANKH, the human homolog of Ank, resul...

The conversion of geranyl pyrophosphate to (+)-alpha-pinene and to (-)-beta-pinene is considered to proceed by the initial isomerization of the substrate to (-)-(3R)- and to (+)-(3S)-linalyl pyrophosphate, respectively, and the subsequent cyclization of the anti, endo-conformer of these bound intermediates by mirror-image sequences which should result in the net retention of configuration at C1...

The ability to acquire iron from various sources has been demonstrated to be a major determinant in the pathogenesis of Neisseria meningitidis. Outside the cells, iron is bound to transferrin in serum, or to lactoferrin in mucosal secretions. Meningococci can extract iron from iron-loaded human transferrin by the TbpA/TbpB outer membrane complex. Moreover, N. meningitidis expresses the LbpA/Lbp...

Manganese is one of the most abundant metal in natural environments and serves as an essential microelement for all living systems. However, the enrichment of soil with manganese resulting from industrial inputs may threaten terrestrial ecosystems. Several studies have demonstrated harmful effects of manganese exposure by cutaneous contact and/or by soil ingestion to a wide range of soil invert...

Very little manganese is imported into Escherichia coli under routine growth conditions: the import system is weakly expressed, the manganese content is low, and a manganese-dependent enzyme is not correctly metallated. Mutants that lack MntH, the importer, grow at wild-type rates, indicating that manganese plays no critical role. However, MntH supports the growth of iron-deficient cells, sugge...

The effect of chemical form and diet on manganese retention was studied in rats using two diets. The corn-skim milk low-manganese diet was fed to three groups of male, weanling albino rats and a purified manganese-free casein-dextrose diet was fed to three other groups. After 7 days on the diets one group on each diet received orally either SaMnCl2, SaMnCl2 plus carrier manganese as MnC12 in th...

A significant lag phase was observed in the accumulation of product for the reaction catalyzed by pyruvate decarboxylase (PDC) purified from mature maize kernels. The effects of pH, pyruvate, potassium chloride, PDC concentration, and Mg(2+)-thiamine pyrophosphate upon this lag and upon the observed cooperativity were investigated. PDC preincubated with Mg(2+)-thiamine pyrophosphate for six day...

BACKGROUND Neurotoxicity and pulmonary dysfunction are well-recognized problems associated with prolonged human exposure to high concentrations of airborne manganese. Surprisingly, histological characterization of pulmonary responses induced by manganese remains incomplete. The primary objective of this study was to characterize histologic changes in the monkey respiratory tract following manga...

Detailed studies of the properties of carotenoids isolated from diphenylamine-inhibited cultures of Rhodospirillum rubrum have revealed a number of novel structures which indicate new features of carotenoid biosynthesis in the photosynthetic bacteria. The dehydrogenation of phytoene to coloured carotenoids occurs by a sequence which is different from that in higher plants in that 7,8,11,12-tetr...