Index >> Microbial Metabolism >> Metabolism on C1 Carbon Compounds

Metabolism on C1Carbon Compounds - Carbon compounds such as methane, dimethyl ether, methanol, formate, methylamines etc. that contain no carbon carbon bonds are termed as C1 compounds and C1 utilizing organisms are those which have the ability to use these compounds as sole carbon and energy source. Three mechanisms of assimilation are recognized. These are: (i) the ribulose diphosphate pathway (calvin cycle) of CO2 assimilation;

In the serine pathway which operates in facultative methylotrophs and in Methylocystis and Methylosinus the C1 unit derived from for­maldehyde is added to tetrahydrofolic acid and then transferred to glycine with the formation of serine which is then converted through a series of reactions to phosphoglyceric acid. A part of the phosphoglyceric acid is assimilated through conversion to triose phosphate and a part is used to regenerate glycine.