Pirnik M P, Atlas R M, Bartha R
J Bacteriol. 1974 Sep;119(3):868-78. doi: 10.1128/jb.119.3.868-878.1974.
Branched- and straight-chain alkanes are metabolized by Brevibacterium erythrogenes by means of two distinct pathways. Normal alkanes (e.g., n-pentadecane) are degraded, after terminal oxidation, by the beta-oxidation system operational in fatty acid catabolism. Branched alkanes like pristane (2,6,10,14-tetramethylpentadecane) and 2-methylundecane are degraded as dicarboxylic acids, which also undergo beta-oxidation. Pristane-derived intermediates are observed to accumulate, with time, as a series of dicarboxylic acids. This dicarboxylic acid pathway is not observed in the presence of normal alkanes. Release of (14)CO(2) from [1-(14)C]pristane is delayed, or entirely inhibited, in the presence of n-hexadecane, whereas CO(2) release from n-hexadecane remains unaffected. These results suggest an inducible dicarboxylic acid pathway for degradation of branched-chain alkanes.
短杆菌可通过两条不同的途径代谢支链和直链烷烃。正常烷烃（如正十五烷）在末端氧化后，通过脂肪酸分解代谢中起作用的β-氧化系统进行降解。像植烷（2,6,10,14-四甲基十五烷）和2-甲基十一烷这样的支链烷烃则作为二羧酸进行降解，二羧酸也会经历β-氧化。随着时间的推移，观察到源自植烷的中间产物会作为一系列二羧酸积累。在存在正常烷烃的情况下，未观察到这种二羧酸途径。在正十六烷存在的情况下，[1-(14)C]植烷释放(14)CO(2)的过程会延迟，或完全受到抑制，而正十六烷释放CO(2)的过程则不受影响。这些结果表明存在一种可诱导的二羧酸途径用于降解支链烷烃。
