Degradation of maltose by proliferating cells of Desulfovibrio desulfuricans 2198.

Desulfovibrio desulfuricans 2198 can grow on maltose-based medium only in the presence of yeast extract. The results of kinetic measurements of maltose consumption by the cells show that there is no marked difference in Km and Vmax values for this bacterium versus other carbohydrate-utilizing microorganisms. The determination of some enzymes of sugar metabolism in D. desulfuricans 2198 suggests that maltose degradation occurs by the Embden--Meyerhof pathway. The cell extract also contains glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase. 2-Keto-3-deoxy-6-phosphogluconate aldolase, the key enzyme of the Entner--Doudoroff pathway, is not found in D. desulfuricans 2198. In the bacterium grown on [U-14C]maltose-containing medium, a portion of the labeled carbon is incorporated into biomass. As degradation products, labeled acetate and carbon dioxide are found.