PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

To elucidate the biosynthetic pathways for all proteinogenic amino acids in Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris, this study combines results obtained by in silico genome analysis and by 13C-NMR-based isotopologue profiling to provide a panoramic view on a substantial section of bacterial metabolism. Initially, biosynthesis pathways were reconstructed from an improved annotation of the complete genome of X. campestris pv. campestris B100. This metabolic reconstruction resulted in the unequivocal identification of biosynthesis routes for 17 amino acids in total: arginine, asparagine, aspartate, cysteine, glutamate, glutamine, histidine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, and valine. Ambiguous pathways were reconstructed from the genome data for alanine, glycine, and isoleucine biosynthesis. 13C-NMR analyses supported the identification of the metabolically active pathways. The biosynthetic routes for these amino acids were derived from the precursor molecules pyruvate, serine, and pyruvate, respectively. By combining genome analysis and isotopologue profiling, a comprehensive set of biosynthetic pathways covering all proteinogenic amino acids was unraveled for this plant pathogenic bacterium, which plays an important role in biotechnology as a producer of the exopolysaccharide xanthan. The data obtained lay ground for subsequent functional analyses in post-genomics and biotechnology, while the innovative combination of in silico and wet lab technology described here is promising as a general approach to elucidate metabolic pathways.