title: Production of 2-aminobutyrate by Megasphaera elsdenii.
abstract: Production of the amino acid 2-aminobutyrate was studied in four strains of Megasphaera elsdenii grown on a lactate-based growth medium containing Bacto-casamino acids and yeast extract. Supplementation with threonine increased the production of 2-aminobutyrate in three of the four strains, but no substantial increase in production was noted with serine, methionine, or aspartate, all of which are potential sources for the precursor of 2-aminobutyrate, 2-oxobutyrate. L-Cycloserine, an inhibitor of alanine transaminases, decreased both alanine and 2-aminobutyrate production, suggesting that 2-aminobutyrate synthesis may share the same metabolic pathway as alanine synthesis or that 2-oxobutyrate can act as a substrate for alanine transaminases. Decreases in the production of 2-aminobutyrate were associated with a reduction in the catabolism of branched-chain amino acids in two of the four strains.
authors.affiliation: Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge.
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Furtado
authors.forename: T A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: McAllister
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: L P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Milligan
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D000613:Aminobutyrates / Q000378:metabolism*; D000693:Anaerobiosis; D003470:Culture Media; D003523:Cycloserine / Q000378:metabolism; D013045:Species Specificity; D045854:Veillonellaceae / Q000145:classification / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D000613:Aminobutyrates; D003470:Culture Media; C012223:alpha-aminobutyric acid; D003523:Cycloserine