Pathway of anaerobic poly-?-hydroxybutyrate degradation byIlyobacter delafieldii

produced an extracellular poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) depolymerase when grown on PHB; activity was not detected in cultures grown on 3-hydroxybutyrate, crotonate, pyruvate or lactate. PHB depolymerase activity was largely associated with the PHB granules (supplied as growth substrate), and only 16% was detected free in the culture supernatant. Monomeric 3-hydroxybutyrate was detectable as a product of depolymerase activity. The monomer was fermented to acetate, butyrate and H. After activation by coenzyme A transfer from acetyl-CoA or butyryl-CoA, the resultant 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA was oxidized to acetoacetyl-CoA (producing NADH), followed by thiolytic cleavage to yield acetyl-CoA which was further metabolized to acetyl-phosphate, then to acetate with concomitant ATP production. The reducing equivalents (NADH) could be disposed of by the evolution of H, or by a reductive pathway in which 3-hydroxybutyryl-CoA was dehydrated to crotonyl-CoA and reduced to butyryl-CoA. In cocultures of with on PHB, the H partial pressure was much lower than in the pure cultures, and sulfide was produced. Thus interspecies hydrogen transfer caused a shift to increased acetate and H production at the expense of butyrate.