OXIDATIVE ENZYMliS OF li AillEKIAl, SPOIIE EXTRACTS J 51 



?- 



-0 



HCNH2 



l-alanine 



alanine 

 rocemase 



B,.P 



NH3 4 X * C--0 * H2OJ 



-. pyruvuii 



HNCH 

 CH3 

 D-olanine 



Fig. 14. Formation of NH^ and pyruvate from alanine. 



Fig. 15 summarizes the reactions demonstrated thus far. Pyruvate is 

 formed either from glucose via gluconate, 2KG and 2K6PG, or from alanine. 

 Pyruvate is oxidized probably via acetate to a TCA or DCA cycle, or meta- 

 bolized by other clastic type reactions. Although the extracts contain G-6-P 

 dehydrogenase and a system for oxidizing 6-P-G, the HMP pathway is not 

 operative. The evidence here and elsewhere ( Hachisuka et al, 1956 ) also 

 eliminates a functional glycolytic system. The presence of a glycolytic sys- 

 tem as well as further members of the HMP in vegetative cells of the Bacil- 

 laceae (Dedonder, 1952; DeLey, 1953; Keynan et al, 1954) must mean that 

 these as well as other enzyme systems develop during germination. 



Significance of oxidative capacity 



The existence of a metabolic sequence leading to pyruvate formation as 

 well as a cycle for triose oxidation provides a basis for the production of 

 the C skeletons for amino acid synthesis: alanine from pyruvate, the aspar- 

 tic acid family from OAA, and the glutamic acid family from 2-keto glu- 

 tarate (Roberts et al, 1955), A glutamic-aspartic transaminase has been 

 demonstrated in spores of B. megatherium (Levinson and Sevag. 1954). The 

 existence of other amino acid synthesizing systems, active or dorinant in 

 the spore, when coupled with the energy yielding reactions demonstrated 

 above, would permit a sufficient supply of amino acids required for protein 

 ar^d enzyme synthesis during the early stages of germination. 



Qualitative changes, such as those occurring during germination, resem- 

 ble induced enzyme synthesis in many respects. One of the interesting fea- 

 tures of the latter is that in most cases studied thus far induced synthesis 



