Degradation of Aromatic Amino Acids by Fungi: I. Fate of L-Phenylalanine in Schizophyllum Commune

Growing cultures of Schizophyllum commune could produce 14 CO 2 from ring-labelled DL-phenylalanine- 14 C. Intermediates in the pathway of L-phenylalanine degradation prior to ring cleavage were shown to be cinnamic acid, benzoic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, and protocatechuic acid. Phenylacetic acid and L(−)-β-phenyllactic acid were also identified as products of phenylalanine metabolism.