Branches subterminal

Subterminal alkane oxidation apparently occurs in some bacterial species (Markovetz, 1971). This type of oxidation is probably responsible for the formation of long-chain secondary alcohols and ketones. Pirnik (1977) and Perry (1984) have reviewed the microbial oxidation of branched and cyclic alkanes, respectively. Interestingly, none of the cyclohexane or cyclopentane compounds seems to be metabolized by pure cultures. Rather, non-specific oxidases present in many bacteria convert the cyclic alkanes into cyclic ketones, which are then oxidized by specific bacteria. 

Subterminal branches are sympodial branches that develop just below a terminal gynoecium or androecium. Subterminal branching is especially common in acrocarpous mosses, and in many groups most of the shoots are just a series of subterminal branches (e.g., Pottiaceae, Grimmiaceae). Subterminal branches, or secondary axes from the basal part of perichaetia in cladocarpous mosses, are present in many members of the Hypnales (La Farge-England, 1996), but their role in the plant architecture is almost never comparable with that of ordinary branches. 

---