Abstract
The reductive synthesis of [alpha]-ketoglutarate from succinyl coenzyme-A and CO2, in a reaction requiring reduced ferre-doxin, has been demonstrated in a cell-free preparation of the photosynthetic bacterium Chlorobium thiosulfatophilum. This preparation also catalyzes the conversion of [alpha]-ketoglutarate to glutamate. It is proposed that this mechanism for the synthesis of glutamate is involved in carbon assimilation by photosynthetic bacteria.