Isomerization between n-butyrate and isobutyrate in enrichment cultures

Abstract

An isobutyrate-degrading methanogenic enrichment was obtained from a mesophilic anaerobic digester. Studies with growing cells and cell suspensions showed a reversible isomerization between butyrate and isobutyrate, suggesting that butyrate is an intermediate in the anaerobic degradation of isobutyrate. NMR experiments with 13C-labelled butyrate demonstrated that this isomerization resulted from the migration of the carboxyl group.