Respiration of C-14 alanine by the ectomycorrhizal fungus Paxillus involutus

In English The ectomycorrhizal fungus Paxillus involutus efficiently took up exogenously supplied C-14alanine and rapidly converted it to pyruvate, citrate, succinate, fumarate and to CO2, thus providing direct evidence for the utilisation of alanine as a respiratory substrate. C-14alanine was further actively metabolised to glutamate, glutamine and aspartate. Exposure to aminooxyacetate completely suppressed (CO2)-C-14 evolution and greatly reduced the flow of carbon from C-14alanine to tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates and amino acids, suggesting that alanine aminotransferase plays a pivotal role in alanine metabolism in Paxillus involutus.