Studies on the Sources of the Oxygen of Proteins

Escherichiu coli, when grown on a minimal medium, produces all of its cellular constituents from glucose, water, phosphate, and other inorganic compounds. The use of the isotopes of C, H, and N have revealed many of the chemical pathways used in the biosynthesis and degradation of the constituents of this cell. Taking advantage of the availability of high concentrations of Hz018 which have resulted from the work of Dostrovsky (l), we have investigated the contributions of H2018, H,POJ*, glucose1-018, and glucose-6018 to the oxygen atoms of the proteins of E. coli.