Purine and pyrimidine metabolism in Francisella tularensis

: The assimilation and mutual transformation of exogenous purine and pyrimidine bases and their nucleosides in the known subspecies of F. tularensis have been studied by means of radio-labeled compounds. The possibility of using the specific features of the metabolism of these compounds in F. tularensis, established in this study, for taxonomy and differential diagnosis has been demonstrated.