Synthesis of fluoroacetate from fluoride, glycerol, and beta-hydroxypyruvate by Streptomyces cattleya.

Streptomyces cattleya produces fluoroacetate and 4-fluorothreonine from inorganic fluoride added to the culture broth. We have shown by 19F nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry that fluoroacetate is accumulated first in the culture broth and that accumulation of 4-fluorothreonine is next. To show precursors of the carbon skeleton of fluoroacetate, we carried out tracer experiments with various 14C- and 13C-labeled compounds. Radioactivity of [U-14C]glucose, [U-14C]glycerol, [U-14C]serine, and [U-14C]beta-hydroxypyruvate was incorporated into fluoroacetate to an extent of 0.2 to 0.4%, whereas [3-14C]pyruvate, [2,3-14C]succinate, and [U-14C]aspartate were less efficiently incorporated (0.04 to 0.08%). The addition of [2-13C]glycerol to the mycelium suspension of Streptomyces cattleya caused exclusive enrichment of the carboxyl carbon of fluoroacetate with 13C; about 40% of carboxyl carbon of fluoroacetate was labeled with 13C. We studied the radioactivity incorporation of [3-14C]-, [U-14C]-, and [1-14C]beta-hydroxypyruvates to show that C-2 and C-3 of beta-hydroxypyruvate are exclusively converted to the carbon skeleton of fluoroacetate. These results suggest that the carbon skeleton of fluoroacetate derives from C-1 and C-2 of glycerol through beta-hydroxypyruvate, whose hydroxyl group is eventually replaced by fluoride.