THE BIOSYNTHESIS OF ERYTHRITOL AND GLYCEROL BY TORULOPSIS MAGNOLIAE. STUDIES WITH C14-LABELLED GLUCOSE

D-Glucose-1-C 14 , D-glucose-2-C 14 , D-glucose-3, 4-C 14 , and D-glucose-6-C 14 were dissimilated aerobically by washed cells of Torulopsis magnoliae. The major products formed were erythritol and glycerol.A method for the stepwise degradation of erythritol, after oxidation with Acetobacter suboxydans to L-erythrulose, is described. The distribution of radioactive carbon in the erythritol suggests that it is formed by a complex series of reactions in which enzymes of the transaldolase and transketolase type play a major part to give a four-carbon fragment which is then reduced to the tetritol. Enzymes of the Embden–Meyerhof pathway are probably concerned to a lesser extent.