Do reactive oxygen species or does oxygen itself confer obligate anaerobiosis? The case of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron

What is it about?

Pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase and pyruvate:formate lyase, the key enzymes involved in pyruvate dissimilation in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, are irreversibly inactivated by molecular oxygen itself rather than by reactive oxygen species. Therefore, neither elevated scavenging enzymes nor repair systems could sustain the metabolism of this bacterium if substantial oxygen were present.

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