Abstract
The enzymatic system catalyzing the formation of gentisic acid from homogentisic acid by the oxidative decarboxylation which had previously been found in liver prepa-rations, was demonstrated to be present in microorganisms.
From a strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa two kinds of enzymes, gentisic aldehyde forming enzymes and gentisic aldehyde oxidizing enzyme, were partially purified and their properties were studied.
In the course of enzymatic formation of gentisic acid, gentisic aldehyde was the only detectable intermediate. The enzymatic con-version of homogentisic acid to gentisic aldehyde is probably catalyzed by a single enzyme.
