Carbon and hydrogen isotope systematics of bacterial formation and oxidation of methane

Quantification of methanogenic pathways using stable carbon isotopic signatures: a review and a proposal

Differences in the natural-abundance carbon stable isotopic compositions between products from aerobic cultures of Escherichia coli K-12 were measured. Respired CO2 was 3.4% depleted in 13C relative to the glucose used as the carbon source, whereas the acetate was 12.3% enriched in 13C. The acetate 13C enrichment was solely in the carboxyl group. Even though the total cellular carbon was only 0.6% depleted in 13C, intracellular components exhibited a significant isotopic heterogeneity. The protein and lipid fractions were -1.1 and -2.7%, respectively. Aspartic and glutamic acids were -1.6 and +2.7%, respectively, yet citrate was isotopically identical to the glucose. Probable sites of carbon isotopic fractionation include the enzyme, phosphotransacetylase, and the Krebs cycle.

Carbon isotopic fractionation in heterotrophic microbial metabolism.

Isotope organic geochemistry

Nonlinear multivariate calibration using principal components regression and artificial neural networks

Acetic acid isolated from cider vinegar and inorganically synthesized glacial acetic acid have markedly different intramolecular isotopic distributions of the stable carbon isotopes. Carbon-12 is concentrated in the methyl group relative to the carboxyl group in the biologically produced acid. The reverse distribution is observed in the particular sample of glacial acetic acid examined here.

Intramolecular isotopic order in biologically produced acetic acid.

The concentrations of carbon-13 in the individual carbon atoms of 3-hydroxy-2-butanone (acetoin) from apple cider vinegar decrease with decreasing oxidation level in the sequence 






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Because the distributions of isotopes within biological compounds are controlled by kinetic and equilibrium effects, intramolecular isotopic analyses may provide a means of defining the equilibria between metabolic pathways and of recognizing the molecular remnants of pre-existent organisms in geological samples.

Intramolecular carbon isotopic distribution in biologically produced acetoin.

Acetobacter suboxydans, strain 8.3, was grown using ethanol, made by the hydration of ethylene, as the sole energy source. After the microorganism had oxidized some of the ethanol to acetic acid, the unassimilated alcohol and produced acetic acid were isolated from the supernatant. Carbon isotopic analyses of these compounds and the starting ethanol show: (1) the methyl carbon of the starting alcohol is enriched in carbon-13 by 4.6% relative to the hydroxyl carbon, (2) the starting alcohol contains 2% less carbon-13 than the unassimilated ethanol and (3) the carboxyl carbon of the acetic acid excreted by the A. suboxydans is enriched by 3.8% in carbon-13 relative to the methyl carbon. These results support earlier findings which indicate that organisms preferentially utilize compounds enriched in carbon-12 and tend to concentrate carbon-12 in the reduced carbons relative to the oxidized carbons of metabolic products.

Carbon isotopic fractionations associated with acetic acid production by Acetobacter suboxydans

Gas--liquid--solid chromatography (GLSC) employing a poly(phenyl ether) (PPE 20) liquid phase on graphitized carbon black (GCB) is applicable to the analyses of crude oils and distillates of sedimentary rocks. The elution of C/sub 4/ to C/sub 40/ hydrocarbons which consist of n-alkanes, isoprenoid-type alkanes, steranes, olefins, and aromatic hydrocarbons can be handled in a single GC run. A GLSC column in tandem with a mass spectrometer provides an excellent means for the identification of geochemically significant organic compounds in complex natural mixtures. 8 figures, 4 tables.

Gianfranco. Rinaldi

Papers

Intramolecular isotopic order in biologically produced acetic acid.

Intramolecular carbon isotopic distribution in biologically produced acetoin.

Carbon isotopic fractionations associated with acetic acid production by Acetobacter suboxydans

Graphitized carbon in gas-liquid-solid chromatography and gas chromatography/mass spectrometric analysis of high boiling hydrocarbon mixtures