Identification of biosynthetic pathways for all amino acids in Xanthomonas campestris

What is it about?

Amino acids are required as building blocks for proteins, the essential molecular machines and structures of living cells. We have identified the metabolic pathways, enzymes and genes by which Xanthomonas campestris synthesizes all amino acids required to build proteins. For 19 of the 20 amino acids their biosynthetic routes had not been described before. To determine the metabolic pathways we combined careful genome analysis with complex experimental NMR analysis.

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Why is it important?

All over the world, bacteria of the genus Xanthomonas are important hazards to plants, causing substantial damage to a wide range of important crops like rice. At the same time some Xanthomonas bacteria are applied in biotechnology to produce the polysaccharide xanthan. Understanding important processes like amino acids biosynthesis provides a basis to easier protect plants from Xanthomonas infection and may help to optimize xanthan production.