Biological Mechanisms of Carboxylation and Decarboxylation

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
This review is "concerned with the individual enzymatic reactions which effect the cleavage and synthesis of carbon to carbon linkages by decarboxylation and carboxylation, and with the systems which, through the interaction of several enzymes, are able to bring about assimilation of CO2. The enzymatic decarboxylation of amino acids has been adequately covered in recent reviews and is not discussed here." Details are arranged under the following heads kinetics of enzymatic decarboxylation, the alpha-keto acids (carboxylase, synthesis of acyloins, phos-phoroclastic reaction, oxidative decarboxylation and its reversibility with pyruvic acid and alpha-ketoglutaric acid, hypothesis on the mechanism of decarboxylation), the beta-keto acids (acetoacetic, oxalacetic, and oxalosuccinic acids, and the role of metals), the hydroxy acids (malic enzyme of pigeon liver, incorporation of CO2 in oxalacetate, "malic" enzyme of Lactobacillus arabinosus, role of biotin), glyoxylic acid, phosphogluconic acid, succinic acid, the biological function of CO2 fixation.

This publication has 87 references indexed in Scilit: