Pyrimidine Biosynthesis and Ribonucleoside Metabolism in Species of Pseudomonas

Abstract

Pyrimidine biosynthesis and ribonucleoside metabolism in species of Pseudomonas was the focus of this review, in relation to their current taxonomic assignments in different homology groups. It was of interest to learn whether pyrimidine biosynthesis in taxonomically related species of Pseudomonas was regulated in a similar fashion by pyrimidine base supplementation or by pyrimidine limitation of pyrimidine auxotrophic strains. It was concluded that the regulation of pyrimidine biosynthesis in Pseudomonas species could not be correlated with their taxonomic assignment into a specific homology group. Pyrimidine ribonucleoside metabolism in Pseudomonas species primarily involved the pyrimidine ribonucleoside salvage enzymes nucleoside hydrolase and cytosine deaminase, independently of the Pseudomonas homology group to which the species was assigned. Similarly, pyrimidine base catabolism was shown to be active in different taxonomic homology groups of Pseudomonas. Although the number of studies exploring the catabolism of the pyrimidine bases uracil and thymine was limited in scope, it did appear that the presence of the pyrimidine base reductive pathway of pyrimidine catabolism was a commonality observed for the species of Pseudomonas investigated. There also appeared to be a connection between pyrimidine ribonucleoside degradation and the catabolism of pyrimidine bases in providing a cellular source of carbon or nitrogen independently of which homology group the species of Pseudomonas were assigned to.