Metabolism of Methanol in Plant Cells. Carbon-13 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Studies

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Abstract
Using 13C-NMR, we demonstrate that [13C]methanol readily entered sycamore (Acer pseudoplatanus L.) cells to be slowly metabolized to [3-13C]serine, [13CH3]methionine, and [13CH3]phosphatidylcholine. We conclude that the assimilation of [13C]methanol occurs through the formation of 13CH3H4Pte-glutamate (Glu)n and S-adenosyl-methionine, because feeding plant cells with [3-13CH3]serine, the direct precursor of13CH2H4Pte-Glun, can perfectly mimic [13CH3]methanol for folate-mediated single-carbon metabolism. On the other hand, the metabolism of [13C]methanol in plant cells revealed assimilation of label into a new cellular product that was identified as [13CH3]methyl-β-d-glucopyranoside. The de novo synthesis of methyl-β-d-glucopyranoside induced by methanol did not require the formation of13CH3H4Pte-Glun and was very likely catalyzed by a “transglycosylation” process.