Isolation and Characterization of Novel Folic Acid Degrading Enzymes

Abstract

Folic acid functions in multiple life critical metabolic pathways, and is an important coenzyme that aids in redox processing and transfer of one‐carbon units, which involves molecules including nucleotides as well as amino acids. This allows organisms to properly metabolize food sources. Fifteen soil samples gathered from the central Texas area were collected and screened against various antibiotics and vitamins for growth in sterile single carbon source media. Two bacterial strains of organisms were able to grow in media with only folic acid as their only carbon source. These cells were grown, lysed, and the folic acid degrading enzyme was purified from the cells using affinity chromatography on a folate‐sepharose column. A pathway of folic acid degradation is studied, and the folic acid degrading enzyme is characterized.