The fungal biosynthesis of 3-nitropropionic acid: is the decarboxylation of L-nitrosuccinate an enzymatic reaction?

Abstract

In vitro enzymatic hydrolysis of diethyl (RS)-nitrosuccinate 2c by pig liver esterase at pH 7.8 affords 3-nitropropionic acid 1 indicating that the decarboxylation of (RS)-nitrosuccinate 2b is spontaneous under physiological conditions. In the in vivo synthesis of 1 from L-aspartate by cells of Penicillium atrovenetum, which involves oxidation of L-aspartate to nitrosuccinic acid, the decarboxylation of the nitrosuccinate may not require a specific biological catalyst.