The assimilation of carbon dioxide (CO
2
) into organic material is quantitatively the most important biosynthetic process. We discovered that an autotrophic member of the archaeal order Sulfolobales,
Metallosphaera sedula
, fixed CO
2
with acetyl–coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA)/propionyl-CoA carboxylase as the key carboxylating enzyme. In this system, one acetyl-CoA and two bicarbonate molecules were reductively converted via 3-hydroxypropionate to succinyl-CoA. This intermediate was reduced to 4-hydroxybutyrate and converted into two acetyl-CoA molecules via 4-hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydratase. The key genes of this pathway were found not only in
Metallosphaera
but also in
Sulfolobus, Archaeoglobus
, and
Cenarchaeum
species. Moreover, the Global Ocean Sampling database contains half as many 4-hydroxybutyryl-CoA dehydratase sequences as compared with those found for another key photosynthetic CO
2
-fixing enzyme, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase. This indicates the importance of this enzyme in global carbon cycling.
二氧化碳(
CO2)的同化成为有机物是定量上最重要的
生物合成过程。我们发现,一种自养的 Sulfolobales 纲的古菌成员 Metallosphaera sedula,通过
乙酰辅酶A(乙酰-CoA)/丙酰-CoA 羧化酶作为关键羧化酶来固定 。在这个系统中,一个乙酰-CoA 和两个
碳酸氢盐分子通过
3-羟基丙酸酯被还原转化为琥珀酰-CoA。这个中间体被还原成为
4-羟基丁酸酯,并通过
4-羟基丁酰
辅酶A 脱
水酶转化为两个乙酰-CoA 分子。这个途径的关键
基因不仅在 Metallosphaera 中发现,还在 Sulfolobus、Archaeoglobus 和 Cenarchaeum 物种中发现。此外,全球海洋采样数据库中含有的
4-羟基丁酰
辅酶A 脱
水酶序列数量仅为另一个关键的光合 固定酶
核糖-1,5-二
磷酸羧化酶-氧化酶的一半。这表明这种酶在全球碳循环中的重要性。