Skip to main content
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1984 Dec;160(3):1074–1077. doi: 10.1128/jb.160.3.1074-1077.1984

Proton motive force is not obligatory for growth of Escherichia coli.

N Kinoshita, T Unemoto, H Kobayashi
PMCID: PMC215821  PMID: 6389506

Abstract

When 50 microM carbonyl cyanide-m-chlorophenyl hydrazone (CCCP), a protonophore, was added to growth medium containing glucose at pH 7.5, Escherichia coli TK1001 (trkD1 kdpABC5) started exponential growth after 30 min; the generation time was 70 min at 37 degrees C. Strain AS1 (acrA), another strain derived from E. coli K-12, also grew in the presence of 50 microM CCCP under the same conditions, except that the lag period was ca. 3 h. When this strain was grown in the presence of 50 microM CCCP and then transferred to fresh medium containing 50 microM CCCP, cells grew without any lag. Neither a membrane potential nor a pH gradient was detected in strain AS1 cells growing in the presence of CCCP. When either succinate or lactate was substituted for glucose, these strains did not grow in the presence of 50 microM CCCP. Thus, it is suggested that E. coli can grow in the absence of a proton motive force when glucose is used as an energy source at pH 7.5.

Full text

PDF
1074

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bakker E. P., Mangerich W. E. Interconversion of components of the bacterial proton motive force by electrogenic potassium transport. J Bacteriol. 1981 Sep;147(3):820–826. doi: 10.1128/jb.147.3.820-826.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Epstein W., Whitelaw V., Hesse J. A K+ transport ATPase in Escherichia coli. J Biol Chem. 1978 Oct 10;253(19):6666–6668. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Harold F. M., Van Brunt J. Circulation of H+ and K+ across the plasma membrane is not obligatory for bacterial growth. Science. 1977 Jul 22;197(4301):372–373. doi: 10.1126/science.69317. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Hirota N., Matsuura S., Mochizuki N., Mutoh N., Imae Y. Use of lipophilic cation-permeable mutants for measurement of transmembrane electrical potential in metabolizing cells of Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1981 Nov;148(2):399–405. doi: 10.1128/jb.148.2.399-405.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Kobayashi H., Murakami N., Unemoto T. Regulation of the cytoplasmic pH in Streptococcus faecalis. J Biol Chem. 1982 Nov 25;257(22):13246–13252. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Kobayashi H., Unemoto T. Streptococcus faecalis mutants defective in regulation of cytoplasmic pH. J Bacteriol. 1980 Sep;143(3):1187–1193. doi: 10.1128/jb.143.3.1187-1193.1980. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Kopecky A. L., Copeland D. P., Lusk J. E. Viability of Escherichia coli treated with colicin K. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1975 Nov;72(11):4631–4634. doi: 10.1073/pnas.72.11.4631. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. LOWRY O. H., ROSEBROUGH N. J., FARR A. L., RANDALL R. J. Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J Biol Chem. 1951 Nov;193(1):265–275. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Mitchell P. Vectorial chemistry and the molecular mechanics of chemiosmotic coupling: power transmission by proticity. Biochem Soc Trans. 1976;4(3):399–430. doi: 10.1042/bst0040399. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Padan E., Zilberstein D., Schuldiner S. pH homeostasis in bacteria. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1981 Dec;650(2-3):151–166. doi: 10.1016/0304-4157(81)90004-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Rhoads D. B., Epstein W. Energy coupling to net K+ transport in Escherichia coli K-12. J Biol Chem. 1977 Feb 25;252(4):1394–1401. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Rhoads D. B., Waters F. B., Epstein W. Cation transport in Escherichia coli. VIII. Potassium transport mutants. J Gen Physiol. 1976 Mar;67(3):325–341. doi: 10.1085/jgp.67.3.325. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Bacteriology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES