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. 1980 Oct;144(1):217–221. doi: 10.1128/jb.144.1.217-221.1980

Effect of environmental pH on fermentation balance of Lactobacillus bulgaricus.

S K Rhee, M Y Pack
PMCID: PMC294626  PMID: 7419489

Abstract

When Lactobacillus bulgaricus NLS-4 was grown anaerobically in continuous culture with limiting glucose, a shift in the pH of the medium from the acidic to the alkaline range caused this normally homofermentative bacterium to catabolize glucose in a heterofermentative fashion. The change in the nature of the fermentation was accompanied by a decrease in lactate dehydrogenase biosynthesis in alkaline conditions. The lactate dehydrogenase from this organism did not require fructose 1,6-diphosphate or manganese ions (Mn2+) for catalytic activity. Involvement of the phosphoroclastic split in the pyruvate conversion in an alkaline environment was also confirmed. The high lactate dehydrogenase synthesis in acidic medium together with the participation of the phosphoroclastic split under alkaline conditions may explain the shift from homolactic to heterolactic fermentation of L. bulgaricus NLS-4 with the change of environmental pH.

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Selected References

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

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