Studies on the biosynthesis of biotin. Production of biotin and biotin-like compounds by a pseudomonad.

1. Filtrates from cultures of a strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, grown in a basal glucose-ammonium chloride-vitamins-salts medium, possessed biotin activity as detected by microbiological assays. Exponential-phase culture filtrates contained biotin and desthiobiotin in the approximate ratio 1:3, with smaller amounts of biotin sulphoxide and three unidentified compounds with biotin activity. 2. The addition of malonate, adipate or pimelate to the basal medium stimulated the production of compounds with biotin activity; this effect was enhanced when these compounds were included in the medium as the major carbon source. Succinate, glutarate, suberate, fumarate or oxaloacetate did not stimulate the production of compounds with biotin activity. The ratio of biotin to desthiobiotin in filtrates from cultures grown in medium containing malonate as the carbon source was about 1:1. Experiments in which mixtures of malonate and pimelate were included in the medium as the carbon sources showed that these acids probably make a similar contribution in biotin biosynthesis. 3. A number of heterocyclic compounds, including several containing the ureido group (-NH-CO-NH-), were included in the basal medium but none of them stimulated the production of compounds with biotin activity to any marked degree. 4. Several amino acids, particularly cysteine (or cystine) and lysine, when added individually as supplements to the basal medium, stimulated the production of compounds with biotin activity. Filtrates from cultures grown in medium supplemented with cysteine contained approximately equal proportions of biotin and desthiobiotin. A much greater stimulation in the production of compounds with biotin activity was obtained when certain amino acids were included in the medium as the major source of nitrogen or carbon and nitrogen; ornithine, citrulline and argininosuccinate had the most marked effect. The ratio of biotin to desthiobiotin in filtrates from these cultures was usually greater than in filtrates from cultures grown in basal medium. 5-Aminovalerate also caused some stimulation when used as the nitrogen source, but urea was inactive. The effect of binary mixtures of certain amino acids was also examined. 5. The results are discussed in relation to the possible role of the stimulatory compounds during biotin biosynthesis.