Several growth characteristics of
Escherichia coli
K-12 suggest that growth on
l
-fucose results in the synthesis of all the enzymes necessary for growth on
d
-arabinose. Conversely, when a mutant of
E. coli
is grown on
d
-arabinose, all of the enzymes necessary for immediate growth on
l
-fucose are present. Three enzymes of the
l
-fucose pathway in
E. coli
,
l
-fucose isomerase,
l
-fuculokinase, and
l
-fuculose-l-phospháte aldolase possess activity on
d
-arabinose,
d
-ribulose, and
d
-ribulose-l-phosphate, respectively. The products of the aldolase, with
d
-ribulose-l-phosphate as substrate, are dihydroxyacetone phosphate and glycolaldehyde.
l
-Fucose, but not
d
-arabinose, is capable of inducing these activities in wild-type
E. coli
. In mutants capable of utilizing
d
-arabinose as sole source of carbon and energy, these activities are induced in the presence of
d
-arabinose and in the presence of
l
-fucose. Mutants unable to utilize
l
-fucose, selected from strains capable of growth on
d
-arabinose, are found to have lost the ability to grow on
d
-arabinose. Enzymatic analysis of cell-free extracts, prepared from cultures of these mutants, reveals that a deficiency in any of the
l
-fucose pathway enzymes results in the loss of ability to utilize
d
-arabinose. Thus, the pathway of
d
-arabinose catabolism in
E. coli
K-12 is believed to be:
d
-arabinose ⇌
d
-ribulose →
d
-ribulose-l-phosphate ⇌ dihydroxyacetone phosphate plus glycolaldehyde. Evidence is presented which suggests that the glycolaldehyde is further oxidized to glycolate.