Sq. Liu et al., ARGININE CATABOLISM IN WINE LACTIC-ACID BACTERIA - IS IT VIA THE ARGININE DEIMINASE PATHWAY OR THE ARGINASE-UREASE PATHWAY, Journal of Applied Bacteriology, 81(5), 1996, pp. 486-492
The wine lactic acid bacteria Leuconostoc oenos OENO and Lactobacillus
buchneri CUC-3 catabolize L-arginine to ornithine and ammonia as majo
r end-products, with 1 mole of arginine converted into 2 moles of ammo
nia and 1 mole of ornithine. Some citrulline was also excreted into th
e medium. The excreted citrulline was reassimilated and catabolized by
the lactobacillus strain, though not by the leuconostoc. Urea was not
detected during arginine degradation. The activities of all three enz
ymes of the arginine deiminase pathway (arginine deiminase, ornithine
transcarbamylase and carbamate kinase) increased significantly over ti
me in the presence of arginine. On the other hand, arginase and urease
activities were undetectable in cell extracts of cultures grown in th
e presence of arginine. The results show that the arginine deiminase p
athway, and not the arginase-urease pathway, is the route for arginine
degradation in wine lactic acid bacteria.