Abstract
MALATE is reversibly converted to pyruvate through the agency of the malic enzyme. This reaction, which is effected in the presence of NADP+ and Mg++ ions, constitutes the only known means whereby the synthesis of dicarboxylic acids is obtained from pyruvate and carbon dioxide. Simultaneous oxidation and decarboxylation are accomplished by the same enzyme, and although free oxalacetate does not appear in the reaction, this acid is decarboxylated. During equilibrium, there is a tendency for malate to become oxidized, and if NADP+ is removed by coupling action, the process is reversed with the resulting fixation of carbon dioxide.
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DUBOWSKY, N., PIERRE, L. Malic Enzyme Activity in the Fat Bodies of the Cockroach, Leucophaea maderae (F.). Nature 210, 1293–1294 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1038/2101293a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2101293a0
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