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The synthesis of acetyl-CoA by Clostridium thermoaceticum from carbon dioxide, hydrogen, coenzyme A and methyltetrahydrofolate

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Abstract

It has been demonstrated that enzymes from Clostridium thermoaceticum catalyze the following reaction in which Fd is ferredoxin and CH3THF is methyltetrahydrofolate.

$$\begin{gathered}{\text{CO}}_{\text{2}} {\text{ + H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{ + CH}}_{\text{3}} {\text{THF + }} {\text{CoASH}}\xrightarrow{{{\text{ATP, Fd}}}} \hfill \\{\text{CH}}_{\text{3}} {\text{COSCoA + THF + H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{O}}{\text{.}} \hfill \\\end{gathered}$$

The system involves hydrogenase, CO dehydrogenase, a methyltransferase, a corrinoid enzyme and other unknown components. Hydrogenase catalyzes the reduction of ferredoxin by H2; CO dehydrogenase then uses the reduced ferredoxin to reduce CO2 to a one-carbon intermediate that combined with CoASH and with a methyl group originating from CH3THF to form acetyl-CoA. It is proposed that these reactions are part of the mechanism which enables certain acetogenic autotrophic bacteria to grow on CO2 and H2.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Case Western Reserve University, School of Medicine, 44016, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

    Ewa Pezacka & Harland G. Wood

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  1. Ewa Pezacka
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  2. Harland G. Wood
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Pezacka, E., Wood, H.G. The synthesis of acetyl-CoA by Clostridium thermoaceticum from carbon dioxide, hydrogen, coenzyme A and methyltetrahydrofolate. Arch. Microbiol. 137, 63–69 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00425809

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00425809

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