The limitation of glycolysis in adenine-deficient Escherichia coli.

1. In many instances, there was no change in the rate of oxygen consumption per cell when adenine was withdrawn from purine auxotrophs of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium. 2. However, adenine deficiency inhibited the metabolism of glucose, mannitol or glycerol in a purA(-) strain, in purB(-) or purH(-) strains in the absence of histidine and in purB(-) mutants supplied with hypoxanthine. These are all instances where reactions occur to consume adenine nucleotides. 3. The inhibition of glucose oxidation is accompanied by the accumulation of fructose 1,6-diphosphate and dihydroxyacetone phosphate. 4. Insufficiency of ADP for phosphoglycerate kinase is the most probable cause of the inhibition.