The amino acid source of HCN in cultures of a psychrophilic basidiomycete

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Abstract
This investigation was prompted by the reported formation of HCN from isoleucine by way of the cyanogenic glycoside lotaustralin in a psychrophilic basidiomycete. In comparable experiments we found steam distillates from cultures incubated with L-isoleucine-U-14C were radioactive but this was shown not to be due to H14CN, by removal of the HCN as AgCN. This was confirmed using isoleucine-2-14C from which H14CN recovery was negligible. Evidence was obtained that the steam volatile radioactive material regarded by other workers as H14CN consisted largely of organic acids. Hence isoleucine cannot be considered to be a precursor of HCN in this fungus and the occurrence of lotaustralin as an intermediate is therefore doubtful. Under the same conditions HCN was shown to arise from carbon-2 of glycine, confirming previous reports from this laboratory.

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