Production of gluconic acid and 2-ketogluconic acid by Klebsiella aerogenes NCTA 418.

2-Ketogluconic acid and, to a lesser extent, gluconic acid were found to be major products of glucose catabolism by phosphate-limited cultures of Klebsiella aerogenes NCTC 418, and together accounted for up to 46% of the glucose carbon that was metabolized. Although the concentrations of both acids increased substantially at low growth rates, their specific rates of synthesis decreased markedly, ad did the proportion of glucose converted into these products. Determination of the affinity constant, for glucose, of phosphate-limited organisms showed it ot be not significantly different from that of glucose-limited organisms (KS less than or equal to 50 muM), indicative of the phosphotransferase uptake system. And since these organisms possessed an active glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, and had no detectable glucose dehydrogenase activity, it was concluded that gluconic acid and 2-keto-gluconic acid arose from their corresponding phosphorylated metabolites, and not directly from glucose.