title: A fluorescent substrate for carbon-phosphorus lyase: towards the pathway for organophosphonate metabolism in bacteria.
abstract: Many species of bacteria can use naturally occurring organophosphonates as a source of metabolic phosphate by cleaving the carbon-phosphorus bond with a multi-enzyme pathway collectively called carbon-phosphorus lyase (CP-lyase). Very little is known about the fate of organophosphonates entering this pathway. In order to detect metabolic intermediates we have synthesized a fluorescently labelled organophosphonate and show that this is a viable substrate for the CP-lyase pathway in Escherichia coli and that the expected product of CP-bond cleavage is formed. The in vivo competence of one potential metabolic intermediate, 1-ethylphosphonate-alpha-D-ribofuranose, is also demonstrated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada.
authors.forename: Shu-Mei
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Bjarne
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hove-Jensen
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Zechel
mesh_terms: D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology*; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry*; D008190:Lyases / Q000378:metabolism*; D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds / Q000378:metabolism*; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D009943:Organophosphorus Compounds; D008190:Lyases; C051328:carbon-phosphorus lyase