title: Catabolic pathway for the production of skatole and indoleacetic acid by the acetogen Clostridium drakei, Clostridium scatologenes, and swine manure.
abstract: Skatole (3-methylindole) is a malodorous chemical in stored swine manure and is implicated as a component of foul-tasting pork. Definitive evidence for the skatole pathway is lacking. Deuterium-labeled substrates were employed to resolve this pathway in the acetogenic bacterium Clostridium drakei and Clostridium scatologenes and to determine if a similar pathway is used by microorganisms present in stored swine manure. Indoleacetic acid (IAA) was synthesized from tryptophan by both bacteria, and skatole was synthesized from both IAA and tryptophan. Microorganisms in swine manure produced skatole and other oxidation products from tryptophan, but IAA yielded only skatole. A catabolic mechanism for the synthesis of skatole is proposed.
authors.affiliation: Fermentation Biotechnology Research Unit, National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research, USDA, Agricultural Research Service, 1815 N. University St., Peoria, Illinois 61604, USA. terry.whitehead@ars.usda.gov
authors.forename: Terence R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Whitehead
authors.forename: Neil P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: Harold L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Drake
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Cotta
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003013:Clostridium / Q000378:metabolism*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D007210:Indoleacetic Acids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D008372:Manure / Q000382:microbiology*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D012862:Skatole / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization; D013552:Swine; D014364:Tryptophan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D007210:Indoleacetic Acids; D008372:Manure; C030737:indoleacetic acid; D014364:Tryptophan; D012862:Skatole