The degradation of the pentoses d -xylose, l -arabinose and d -ribose in the domain of archaea, in Haloferax volcanii and in Haloarcula and Sulfolobus species, has been shown to proceed via oxidative pathways to generate α-ketoglutarate. Here, we report that the haloarchaeal Halorhabdus species utilize the bacterial-type non-oxidative degradation pathways for pentoses generating xylulose-5-phosphate. The genes of these pathway...

Summary The haloarchaeon H aloferax volcanii degrades D ‐xylose and L ‐arabinose via oxidative pathways to α‐ketoglutarate. The genes involved in these pathways are clustered and were transcriptionally upregulated by both D ‐xylose and L ‐arabinose suggesting a common regulator. Adjacent to the gene cluster, a putative IclR ‐like transcriptional regulator, HVO _B0040, was identified. It is shown that HVO _B0040, designated xac...