Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Metabolic Pathway Confirmation and Discovery Through 13C-labeling of Proteinogenic Amino Acids
Published on: January 26, 2012
[Distribution of carbon isotopes ((13)C/(12)C) in cells and temporal organization of cellular processes]
Abstract:
Recent studies on fractionation of carbon isotopes in biological systems are reviewed. It follows that direct experimental proofs have been obtained that 1) basic fractionation of carbon isotopes in the cell is related to isotope effect in pyruvate decarboxylation; 2) fractionation of carbon isotopes in the above reaction in vivo proceeds with exhausting substrate pool. The latter provides natural relationship between metabolites isotope distribution and sequence of their synthesis in the cell cycle, or with the temporal organization of cellular metabolism. The non-steady and periodic pattern of pyruvate decarboxylation due to the exhausting substrate pool well agrees with the existing notions on reciprocal oscillations in the cell glycolytic chain. Experimental data are presented corroborating indirectly the existence of oscillations in bacterial cells. Earlier proposed model of the mechanism of carbon isotope fractionation based on the above principles can be used for analysing changes in isotopic characteristics of the organisms and interpreting their relations with metabolic processes.
More Related Videos
07:41A Method for Measuring Metabolism in Sorted Subpopulations of Complex Cell Communities Using Stable Isotope Tracing
Published on: February 4, 2017
11:14Fatty Acid 13C Isotopologue Profiling Provides Insight into Trophic Carbon Transfer and Lipid Metabolism of Invertebrate Consumers
Published on: April 17, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Radioactive Decay and Radiometric Dating
Distribution of Cytoplasmic Content
Distribution of cytoplasmic determinants
The cytoplasm contains various organelles, as well as salts, proteins, and water. The distribution of small...
Carbon-13 (¹³C) NMR: Overview
¹³C NMR: ¹H–¹³C Decoupling
A broadband decoupling technique is used to simplify these complex, sometimes overlapping, signals. Broadband decoupling relies on a...
Mass Spectrometry: Isotope Effect
Distribution of Cytoplasmic Content
Distribution of cytoplasmic determinants
The cytoplasm contains various organelles, as well as salts, proteins, and water. The distribution of small...