title: Acetone formation in the Vibrio family: a new pathway for bacterial leucine catabolism.
abstract: There is current interest in biological sources of acetone, a volatile organic compound that impacts atmospheric chemistry. Here, we determined that leucine-dependent acetone formation is widespread in the Vibrionaceae. Sixteen Vibrio isolates, two Listonella species, and two Photobacterium angustum isolates produced acetone in the presence of L-leucine. Shewanella isolates produced much less acetone. Growth of Vibrio splendidus and P. angustum in a fermentor with controlled aeration revealed that acetone was produced after a lag in late logarithmic or stationary phase of growth, depending on the medium, and was not derived from acetoacetate by nonenzymatic decarboxylation in the medium. L-Leucine, but not D-leucine, was converted to acetone with a stoichiometry of approximately 0.61 mol of acetone per mol of L-leucine. Testing various potential leucine catabolites as precursors of acetone showed that only alpha-ketoisocaproate was efficiently converted by whole cells to acetone. Acetone production was blocked by a nitrogen atmosphere but not by electron transport inhibitors, suggesting that an oxygen-dependent reaction is required for leucine catabolism. Metabolic labeling with deuterated (isopropyl-d(7))-L-leucine revealed that the isopropyl carbons give rise to acetone with full retention of deuterium in each methyl group. These results suggest the operation of a new catabolic pathway for leucine in vibrios that is distinct from the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A pathway seen in pseudomonads.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 80309-0215, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nemecek-Marshall
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wojciechowski
authors.forename: W P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fall
mesh_terms: D000096:Acetone / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D007930:Leucine / Q000378:metabolism*; D008954:Models, Biological; D008956:Models, Chemical; D010776:Photobacterium / Q000378:metabolism; D014733:Vibrio / Q000378:metabolism; D014737:Vibrionaceae / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000096:Acetone; D007930:Leucine