Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) is a key enzyme required for gluconeogenesis when microorganisms grow on carbon sources metabolized via the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. Aspergillus nidulans acuF mutants isolated by their inability to use acetate as a carbon source specifically lack PEPCK. The acuF gene has been cloned and shown to encode a protein with high similarity to PEPCK from...

The inherited neurodegenerative disorder glutaric aciduria type 1 (GA1) results from mutations in the gene for the mitochondrial matrix enzyme glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase (GCDH), which leads to elevations of the dicarboxylates glutaric acid (GA) and 3-hydroxyglutaric acid (3OHGA) in brain and blood. The characteristic clinical presentation of GA1 is a sudden onset of dystonia during catabolic si...

Soluble manganese in the intermediate +III oxidation state (Mn3+ ) is a newly identified oxidant in anoxic environments, whereas acetate is a naturally abundant substrate that fuels microbial activity. Microbial populations coupling anaerobic acetate oxidation to Mn3+ reduction, however, have yet to be identified. We isolated a Shewanella strain capable of oxidizing acetate anaerobically with M...

The steady-state rate of glucose oxidation through the mitochondrial TCA cycle (V(TCA)) was measured in acid extracts of 10- and 30-day-old cerebral cortex of rats receiving [1-13C]glucose intravenously and in neocortical slices superfused in vitro with the same isotope. TCA cycle flux was determined for each age group based on metabolic modeling analysis of the isotopic turnover of cortical gl...

Developmental arrest, a critical component of the life cycle in animals as diverse as nematodes (dauer state), insects (diapause), and vertebrates (hibernation), results in dramatic depression of the metabolic rate and a profound extension in longevity. Although many details of the hormonal systems controlling developmental arrest are well-known, we know little about the interactions between me...

We read with interest the commentary of Venkatesh and Morgan in the February issue of Critical Care [1], in which they discuss the continuing need for clarification of the nature of unmeasured anions in critically ill patients. The questions asked in this commentary arise from the study of Bruegger and colleagues in a previous issue of this journal [2]. The main issue discussed is the ongoing u...