Cyanide formation from oxidation of glycine by a Pseudomonas species

Abstract

With whole cells of a hydrogen cyanide producing bacterium strain C, of the genus Pseudomonas, it was found that the oxygen necessary for the oxidation of glycine to cyanide could be replaced by various artificial electron acceptors. The order of reactivity was: oxygen > phenazine methosulphate > methylene blue > 2,6 dichlorophenolindophenol > ferricyanide. Cyanide production was inhibited by pyrrolnitrin, a well known inhibitor of many flavine enzymes. The molar ratio of added glycine to cyanide produced was found to be 1.09. With whole bacteria the apparent Km (glycine) for the cyanide production was found to be 5.0 x 10-4 M.