Iminodisuccinate Pathway Map

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This pathway was contributed by Epigmenio Sanchez, Mary Cullen, and Jeffrey P. Osborne, Manchester College.

Iminodisuccinate is a synthetic, medium-strong, pentadentate member of the aminopolycarboxylate chelator family. It chelates alkaline earth or other heavy metal ions and can substitute for ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid in a variety of applications. The standard synthesis of iminodisuccinate results in a mixture of its three epimers: (R,R)-iminodisuccinate, (S,S)-iminodisuccinate, and the meso (R,S)-iminodisuccinate.

Iminodisuccinate degradation is initiated by an epimerase that interconverts the epimers (R,R)-iminodisuccinate, (R,S)-iminodisuccinate, and (S,S)-iminodisuccinate (Lohkamp et al., 2006). The carbon-nitrogen bond in (R,S)-iminodisuccinate or (S,S)-iminodisuccinate, but not (R,R)-iminodisuccinate, is cleaved by iminodisuccinate lyase. This nonhydrolytic cleavage of (S,S)-iminodisuccinate produces fumarate and L-aspartate. Cleavage of (R,S)-iminodisuccinate results in D-aspartate and fumarate (Cokesa et al., 2004).

The following is a text-format iminodisuccinate pathway map. Organisms that can initiate the pathway are given, but other organisms may also carry out later steps. Follow the links for more information on compounds or reactions. This map is also available in graphic (7k) format.

      (R,R)-Iminodisuccinate
Achromobacter xylosoxidans sp. xylosoxidans
   Agrobacterium tumefaciens BY6
        Ralstonia sp. SLRS7
                 |
                 |
iminodisuccinate | 
   epimerase     |
                 |               iminodisuccinate
                 v                   epimerase
       (R,S)-Iminodisuccinate ----------------------> (S,S)-Iminodisuccinate
                 |                                               |
                 |                                               |
iminodisuccinate |                              iminodisuccinate |
     lyase       |                                   lyase       |
                 |                                               |
                 |                                               |
                 v                                               v
            D-Aspartate  +  Fumarate                          Fumarate  +  L-Aspartate
                 |             |                                 |              |
                 |             |                                 |              |
                 |             |                                 |              |
                 |             +---------------------------------+              |
                 |                             |                                |
                 |                             |                                |
                 |                             v                                |
                 |                  Intermediary Metabolism                     |
                 |                                                              |
                 v                                                              v
      Intermediary Metabolism                                        Intermediary Metabolism

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Page Author(s): Jeffrey P. Osborne, Manchester College

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