Hydrocarbon metabolism by Brevibacterium erythrogenes: normal and branched alkanes.

Branched- and straight-chain alkanes are metabolized by Brevibacterium erythrogenes by means of two distinct pathways. Normal alkanes (e.g., n-pentadecane) are degraded, after terminal oxidation, by the beta-oxidation system operational in fatty acid catabolism. Branched alkanes like pristane (2,6,10,14-tetramethylpentadecane) and 2-methylundecane are degraded as dicarboxylic acids, which also undergo beta-oxidation. Pristane-derived intermediates are observed to accumulate, with time, as a series of dicarboxylic acids. This dicarboxylic acid pathway is not observed in the presence of normal alkanes. Release of (14)CO(2) from [1-(14)C]pristane is delayed, or entirely inhibited, in the presence of n-hexadecane, whereas CO(2) release from n-hexadecane remains unaffected. These results suggest an inducible dicarboxylic acid pathway for degradation of branched-chain alkanes.