The influence of inorganic nitrogen supply on carbohydrate and related metabolism in the blue-green alga, Anabaena cylindrica Lemm.

Enzymes representative of, and related to, the pentose phosphate pathway, glycolysis, and the tricarboxylic acid cycle have been demonstrated in supernatant and lamellar fractions of Anabaena cylindrica cultured in the presence of atmospheric nitrogen, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Nitrogen-fixing and ammonia-assimilating algae contained essentially similar levels of most enzymes tested, with the notable exception of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase which showed increased NADPH-linked activity with concomitant diminution of NADH-linked activity when ammonia was supplied. The provision of nitrite or nitrate caused significant enhancements of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, and the related hexokinase and phosphohexoisomerase. Reduced activities of pyruvate kinase, malate dehydrogenase, phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase, and both NADH and NADPH oxidoreductases were recorded for nitrate-grown alga.The stimulation of the pentose phosphate pathway, at the partial expense of glycolysis and the tricarboxylic acid cycle, in algae cultured with nitrite and nitrate was interpreted to be due to additional NADPH requirements imposed by induced nitrite reductase. Modification of the pyridine nucleotide linkage of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and the oxidoreductases was attributed to diversion of reductant to nitrite and nitrate reductases and nitrogenase. The results are considered to indicate regulation of blue-green algal metabolism determined by the availability of pyridine nucleotides.