Non-equivalence of hydrogen transfer from glucose to the pro-R and pro-S methylene positions of ethanol during fermentation by Leuconostoc mesenteroides quantified by 2H NMR at natural abundance.

The anaerobic fermentation of glucose by Leuconostoc mesenteroides via the reductive pentose phosphate pathway leads to the accumulation of lactic acid and ethanol. The isotope redistribution coefficients (a(ij)) that characterize the specific derivation of each hydrogen atom in ethanol in relation to the non-exchangeable hydrogen atoms in glucose and the medium water have been determined using quantitative (2)H NMR. First, it is confirmed that the hydrogens of the methylene group are related only to the 1 and 3 positions of glucose via the NAD(P)H pool and not to the 4 position, in contrast to ethanol produced by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Second, it is found that the conversion factors (C(f)) for the transfer of hydrogen to the pro-S and pro-R positions of the methylene group are not equivalent: the C(f)-1-R:C(f)-1-S ratio is 2.1, whereas the C(f)-3-R:C(f)-3-S ratio is 0.8. It is shown that this non-equivalence is not determined by the stereochemistry of the terminal NADH- and NADPH-dependent alcohol dehydrogenases, but is dependent on the cofactor selectivities of the reductive and oxidative steps of the reduced nucleotide cycle.