[Oxidative stress and organic cyclopyrophosphates in bacteria]

Oxidative stress in nocardioform bacteria--Corynebacterium (Brevibacterium) ammoniagenes, Micrococcus luteus and Mycobacterium smegmatis--is accompanied by a significant accumulation of 2-C-methyl-D-erythrol-2,4-cyclopyrophosphate (MEC), which is correlated with the ability of the producer to grow under stress. Metabolic stability of MEC in bacterial cells, its spontaneous isomerization into 1,2-cyclophospho-4-phosphate and the possibility of a genetic transfer of the MEC-synthesizing capacity from Corynebacterium to E. coli have been demonstrated. The involvement of MEC in the response to oxidative stress via the complex formation between MEC and bivalent cations has been postulated.