• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.40-48
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• 1991

Two malonate-specific enzymes, malonyl-CoA synthetase and malonamidase, were found in free-living cultures of Rhizobium japonicum, Rhizobium meliloti, and Rhizobium trifolii, that infect plant roots where contain a high concentration of malonate. Malonyl-CoA synthetase catalyzes the formation of malonyl-CoA, AMP, and PPi directly from malonate, coenzyme A, and ATP in the presence of $Mg^{2+}$ Malonamidase is a novel enzyme that catalyzes hydrolysis and malonyl transfer of malonamate, and forms malonohydroxamate from malonate and hydroxylamine. Both enzymes are highly specific for malonate. These results show that Rhizobia have enzymes able to metabolize malonate and suggest that malonate may be used in symbiotic carbon and nitrogen metabolism.

• BMB Reports
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.443-451
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• 2002

Malonate is a three-carbon dicarboxylic acid. It is well known as a competitive inhibitor of succinate dehydrogenase. It occurs naturally in biological systems, such as legumes and developing rat brains, which indicates that it may play an important role in symbiotic nitrogen metabolism and brain development. Recently, enzymes that are related to malonate metabolism were discovered and characterized. The genes that encode the enzymes were isolated, and the regulation of their expression was also studied. The mutant bacteria, in which the malonate-metabolizing gene was deleted, lost its primary function, symbiosis, between Rhizobium leguminosarium bv trifolii and clover. This suggests that malonate metabolism is essential in symbiotic nitrogen metabolism, at least in clover nodules. In addition to these, the genes matB and matC have been successfully used for generation of the industrial strain of Streptomyces for the production of antibiotics.