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Metabolites of the Free‐Living Amoeba Phreatamoeba balamuthi Analyzed by 13 C‐ and 31 P‐NMR Spectroscopy: Occurrence of Phosphoinositol Diphosphates
Author(s) -
MARTIN JEANBAPTISTE,
BAKKERGRUNWALD TILLY,
KLEIN GERARD
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
journal of eukaryotic microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.067
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1550-7408
pISSN - 1066-5234
DOI - 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1995.tb01560.x
Subject(s) - biology , phosphocholine , trehalose , nucleoside , biochemistry , nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy , pyrophosphate , putrescine , proline , phospholipid , stereochemistry , amino acid , chemistry , enzyme , membrane , phosphatidylcholine
.Phreatamoeba balamuthi is a free‐living heterotrophic amoeba that lacks mitochondria. Metabolites of axenically‐grown cells were characterized by natural‐abundance 13 C‐NMR and 31 P‐NMR spectroscopy on acellular perchloric acid extracts. The amoebae were found to contain glycogen and trehalose as storage carbohydrates, together with putrescine and several amino acids, most prominently proline; we propose that proline and trehalose may serve in osmoregulation. Glycerophosphocholine and glycerophosphoethanolamine were present with their phosphomonoester derivatives, phosphocholine and phosphoethanolamine. Along with inorganic phosphate, inorganic pyrophosphate, nucleoside diphosphates, nucleoside triphosphates and NAD, P. balamuthi amoebae also contained unusual phosphoinositol diphosphates in large quantities (0.5 μmol/g wet cells).