SUMMARY: The experiments described establish the importance of the pentose cycle in carbohydrate breakdown by Staphylococcus aureus. No Entner-Doudoroff pathway was found. Another feature is the extensive glucose effect: growth in glucose enhanced glycolysis suppressed the Krebs cycle, decreased the activity of the pentose cycle and suppressed the formation of many enzymes. Even the oxidation of pyruvic acid was decreased in glucose-grown organisms. The decrease of oxidative activity affected the cytochromes. The main products of carbohydrate oxidation were acetic acid and carbon dioxide. The accumulation of acetic acid indicated that the link between pyruvic acid and the citric acid cycle was weak.
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