title: Carbon-13 nuclear-magnetic-resonance studies of glucose catabolism by Trypanosoma brucei gambiense.
abstract: 13C Nuclear magnetic resonance studies have been performed in vivo on Trypanosoma brucei gambiense. The glycolytic pathway has been observed using specifically labelled 13C-enriched glucose and it has been ascertained that there is, under anaerobic conditions, predominant incorporation of C-1 of glucose into glycerol while there is complete randomisation of C-6 of glucose into glycerol and pyruvate. These observations cannot be reconciled by the Embden-Meyerhof glycolytic pathway, purportedly the mechanism by which glucose is catabolised in these organisms, and an alternative pathway must exist. Comparison of whole-cell and acid-lysate 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectra concludes that pyruvate may be initially formed bound to a macromolecular species. Also, alanine is found to be a major end product of glucose catabolism.
mesh_terms: D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods; D014346:Trypanosoma brucei brucei / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D005947:Glucose