Vitamin Organic degradation

In 1933, R. Kuhn and his co-workers first isolated riboflavin from eggs in a pure, crystalline state (1), named it ovoflavin, and deterrnined its function as a vitamin (2). At the same time, impure crystalline preparations of riboflavin were isolated from whey and named lyochrome and, later, lactoflavin. Soon thereafter, P. Karrer and his co-workers isolated riboflavin from a wide variety of animal organs and vegetable sources and named it hepatoflavin (3). Ovoflavin from egg, lactoflavin from milk, and hepatoflavin from Hver were aU. subsequently identified as riboflavin. The discovery of the yeUow en2yme by Warburg and Christian in 1932 and their description of lumiflavin (4), a photochemical degradation product of riboflavin, were of great use for the elucidation of the chemical stmcture of riboflavin by Kuhn and his co-workers (5). The stmcture was confirmed in 1935 by the synthesis by Karrer and his co-workers (6), and Kuhn and his co-workers (7). 

One of the organisms fulfills the need for a growth requirement by the other, for example, vitamin requirements of one organism that is provided by the other. Examples are provided by biotin in cocultures of Methylocystis sp. and Xanthobacter sp. (Lidstrom-O Connor et al. 1983), and thiamin in cocultures of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and an undefined Pseudomonas sp. that degraded the phosphonate herbicide glyphosate (Moore et al. 1983). 

Within organisms, organic sulfur is present predominantly as the amino acids cysteine and methionine, and the algal and bacterial osmolyte, dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP). The latter also serves as an antioxidant and cryoprotectant. Small amounts of organosulfur are also present in some polysaccharides, lipids, vitamins, enzymes, and in the iron-sulfur protein ferrodoxin. Cell lysis and microbial degradation releases... 

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