Biochemical Studies on the Rice Blast Disease

VI. On the Metabolism of Glutamic Acid by the Rice Blast Fungus

Abstract

The rice blast fungus was cultivated on the medium containing glutamic acid as the sole source of carbon and nitrogen. The fungus grew well on that medium. The maximum yield of the mycelium per gram atom of carbon was 87per cent to that of the one grown on the medium containing sucrose and nitrate. But with respect to heat of combustion driven from each mole of these carbon sources, the growth of the fungus were almost equal in both cases.
The pathway of the glutamic acid was studied by means of the inhibition with arsenite and also under the deficiency of thiamine. α-Ketoglutaric acid was isolated as 2.4-dinitrophenylhydrazone from the medium. Glutamic acid is assumed to be metabolized through TCA-cycle by this fungus.