TY  - GEN
A1  - He, Hai
A1  - Noor, Elad
A1  - Ramos-Parra, Perla A.
A1  - García-Valencia, Liliana E.
A1  - Patterson, Jenelle A.
A1  - Díaz de la Garza, Rocío I.
A1  - Hanson, Andrew D.
A1  - Bar-Even, Arren
T1  - In Vivo Rate of Formaldehyde Condensation with Tetrahydrofolate
T2  - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe
N2  - Formaldehyde is a highly reactive compound that participates in multiple spontaneous reactions, but these are mostly deleterious and damage cellular components. In contrast, the spontaneous condensation of formaldehyde with tetrahydrofolate (THF) has been proposed to contribute to the assimilation of this intermediate during growth on C1 carbon sources such as methanol. However, the in vivo rate of this condensation reaction is unknown and its possible contribution to growth remains elusive. Here, we used microbial platforms to assess the rate of this condensation in the cellular environment. We constructed Escherichia coli strains lacking the enzymes that naturally produce 5,10-methylene-THF. These strains were able to grow on minimal medium only when equipped with a sarcosine (N-methyl-glycine) oxidation pathway that sustained a high cellular concentration of formaldehyde, which spontaneously reacts with THF to produce 5,10-methylene-THF. We used flux balance analysis to derive the rate of the spontaneous condensation from the observed growth rate. According to this, we calculated that a microorganism obtaining its entire biomass via the spontaneous condensation of formaldehyde with THF would have a doubling time of more than three weeks. Hence, this spontaneous reaction is unlikely to serve as an effective route for formaldehyde assimilation.
T3  - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 998 
KW  - one-carbon metabolism
KW  - spontaneous reaction
KW  - auxotrophy
KW  - serine cycle
KW  - phenotypic phase plane
Y1  - 2020
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-476472
SN  - 1866-8372
IS  - 998
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - He, Hai
A1  - Noor, Elad
A1  - Ramos-Parra, Perla A.
A1  - García-Valencia, Liliana E.
A1  - Patterson, Jenelle A.
A1  - Díaz de la Garza, Rocío I.
A1  - Hanson, Andrew D.
A1  - Bar-Even, Arren
T1  - In Vivo Rate of Formaldehyde Condensation with Tetrahydrofolate
JF  - Metabolites
N2  - Formaldehyde is a highly reactive compound that participates in multiple spontaneous reactions, but these are mostly deleterious and damage cellular components. In contrast, the spontaneous condensation of formaldehyde with tetrahydrofolate (THF) has been proposed to contribute to the assimilation of this intermediate during growth on C1 carbon sources such as methanol. However, the in vivo rate of this condensation reaction is unknown and its possible contribution to growth remains elusive. Here, we used microbial platforms to assess the rate of this condensation in the cellular environment. We constructed Escherichia coli strains lacking the enzymes that naturally produce 5,10-methylene-THF. These strains were able to grow on minimal medium only when equipped with a sarcosine (N-methyl-glycine) oxidation pathway that sustained a high cellular concentration of formaldehyde, which spontaneously reacts with THF to produce 5,10-methylene-THF. We used flux balance analysis to derive the rate of the spontaneous condensation from the observed growth rate. According to this, we calculated that a microorganism obtaining its entire biomass via the spontaneous condensation of formaldehyde with THF would have a doubling time of more than three weeks. Hence, this spontaneous reaction is unlikely to serve as an effective route for formaldehyde assimilation.
KW  - one-carbon metabolism
KW  - spontaneous reaction
KW  - auxotrophy
KW  - serine cycle
KW  - phenotypic phase plane
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo10020065
SN  - 2218-1989
VL  - 10
IS  - 65
PB  - MDPI
CY  - Basel
ER  -