Propionate catabolism in the housefly Musca domestica and the termite Zootermopsis nevadensis

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Abstract

The catabolism of propionate was examined in the housefly Musca domestica (which does not contain detectable amounts of vitamin B12) and the termite Zootermopsis nevadensis (which contains large amounts of vitamin B12). The products from carbon-14 labeled propionate were separated by HPLC and radioactivity was determined by liquid scintillation counting. In vivo studies as a function of time showed that, in both species, products of [2-14C]propionate were acetate and 3-hydroxypropionate. [2-14C]Propionate was not efficiently converted to methylmalonate or succinate, as would occur in mammals. Studies with sub-cellular fractions in both species showed that only the mitochondrial fraction efficiently converted propionate to acetate. Radioactivity from [1-14C]propionate incubated with housefly mitochondria was recovered only in fractions corresponding to propionate and 3-hydroxypropionate. The data obtained are consistent with a metabolic pathway in which propionate is converted to 3-hydroxypropionate and then to acetate. The results presented here demonstrate this pathway in insects which have high vitamin B12 levels and undetectable vitamin B12 levels, suggesting that this may be a common pathway for propionate metabolism in insects.

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