Intermediate Energy Metabolism of Leptospira
AUTOR(ES)
Baseman, J. B.
RESUMO
Metabolic studies were performed on three representative serotypes of Leptospira: a water isolate designated B16 and two pathogenic serotypes, pomona and schueffneri. Examination of whole cells of B16 for their ability to oxidize various substrates revealed that oleate significantly stimulated oxygen uptake. The respiratory quotient of 0.7 implied that oleate was degraded to carbon dioxide and water. Other substrates, such as carbohydrates, alcohols, intermediates of the citric acid cycle, and short-chain acids, including selected amino acids, did not stimulate endogenous respiration of whole cells. No oxygen uptake could be measured when cell-free extracts were tested with the substrates used with whole cells. Enzymatic analyses of cell-free extracts of the three strains demonstrated enzymes of the citric acid cycle, enzymes of the glycolytic and pentose pathways, and the general acyl coenzyme A dehydrogenase required for β-oxidation of fatty acids. Strain B16 and the two pathogenic serotypes appeared to possess similar metabolic capabilities. Enzymatic data might also explain the apparent inability of B16 to oxidize other substrates; kinases necessary for activation of common nonphosphorylated compounds were not detected in leptospiral extracts. These findings emphasized the dependence of leptospiral growth upon long-chain fatty acids.
