Solid-state NMR studies of regulation of N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine and glycine metabolism in Pseudomonas sp. strain PG2982.

Lyophilized samples of Pseudomonas sp. PG2982 grown on 13C- and 15N-labeled glyphosate have been analyzed by single and double cross-polarization 13C NMR. Both the carbon and nitrogen metabolism of glyphosate are significantly influenced by the nitrogen source used for the growth of the organism. When ammonium sulfate is the source of nitrogen, the glycyl moiety of glyphosate is utilized intact for the biosynthesis of purines and proteins. But when the organism is grown on glycine as the source of nitrogen, the carbons and nitrogen of glyphosate are scrambled, consistent with incorporation into serine and pyruvate, and hence participation in general metabolism. When both ammonium and glycine are present in the growth medium, regulation of the metabolic fluxes along each of the two major pathways appears to be determined by the intracellular glycine concentration.