Nitrate respiration of Klebsiella pneumoniae on amino acids, especially on serine

Anaerobic growth on an amino acids mixture in the presence of nitrate of a strain of K. pneumoniae isolated from soil depended on the presence of serine in the mixture. This organism grew on serine as sole carbon source under anaerobic conditions in the presence of nitrate but not in its absence. Glycylglycine could replace serine. Serine was degraded to acetate, formate, pyruvate, acetone and acetoin with formation of nitrite under these conditions. These products were practically not different from those formed from glucose. Resting cells decomposed serine also in the absence of nitrate forming butanediol and a large amount of formate in place of decreased amounts of acetate and pyruvate. These cells also anaerobically decomposed alanine to products similar to those from serine and phenylalanine to phenylacetate and formate only in the presence of nitrate. Valine was not catabolized under the same conditions. Serine was decomposed to pyruvate and ammonia in the crude extract in the presence and absence of nitrate, indicating participation of serine dehydratase in its breakdown. Phenylalanine appears to be decomposed to phenylpyruvate by transamination coupled to glutamate oxidation and then to phenylacetate and formate. Little growth on serine under anaerobic conditions in the absence of nitrate may be accounted for by the small gain of ATP in the anaerobic breakdown of serine by this organism.