Skip to main content
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1968 Nov;96(5):1760–1767. doi: 10.1128/jb.96.5.1760-1767.1968

Unbalanced Growth Death Due to Depletion of Mn2+ in Brevibacterium ammoniagenes

Tetuo Oka a,1, Kiyoshi Udagawa a, Shukuo Kinoshita a
PMCID: PMC315238  PMID: 5726310

Abstract

In the microbial conversion of added hypoxanthine to 5′-inosinic acid, Mn2+ concentration in the growth medium is known to have a profound effect both on the yield of 5′-inosinic acid and the morphology of cells of Brevibacterium ammoniagenes. To elucidate the mechanism in which Mn2+ was concerned with cell morphology and 5′-inosinic acid production, effects of Mn2+ on the macromolecular synthesis were measured. It was found that Mn2+ strongly governed deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis and that, in the medium lacking Mn2+, DNA synthesis was stopped at the level corresponding to one-fourth to one-third that in the medium supplemented with Mn2+ (100 μg/liter). On the other hand, cellular ribonucleic acid and protein synthesis was quite indifferent to Mn2+ concentration. Consequently, cells showed so-called “unbalanced growth death” after 10 hr of culture, losing the ability to form colonies while cell mass was increasing. The elongated cells turned into irregular forms (bulbous, club-shaped, etc.) which finally lysed. Two main reaction components in the conversion of hypoxanthine to 5′-inosinic acid, phosphoribosylpyrophosphate and hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase, were liberated into the medium during lysis. The role of Mn2+ in the synthesis of DNA and the role of the unbalanced growth death in the conversion of hypoxanthine to 5′-inosinic acid are discussed.

Full text

PDF
1760

Images in this article

Selected References

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

  1. Asbell M. A., Eagon R. G. Role of Multivalent Cations in the Organization, Structure, and Assembly of the Cell Wall of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. J Bacteriol. 1966 Aug;92(2):380–387. doi: 10.1128/jb.92.2.380-387.1966. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. BURTON K. A study of the conditions and mechanism of the diphenylamine reaction for the colorimetric estimation of deoxyribonucleic acid. Biochem J. 1956 Feb;62(2):315–323. doi: 10.1042/bj0620315. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bazill G. W. Lethal unbalanced growth in bacteria. Nature. 1967 Oct 28;216(5113):346–349. doi: 10.1038/216346a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cohen S. S., Barner H. D. STUDIES ON UNBALANCED GROWTH IN ESCHERICHIA COLI. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1954 Oct;40(10):885–893. doi: 10.1073/pnas.40.10.885. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. FOX C. F., WEISS S. B. ENZYMATIC SYNTHESIS OF RIBONUCLEIC ACID. II. PROPERTIES OF THE DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID-PRIMED REACTION WITH MICROCOCCUS LYSODEIKTICUS RIBONUCLEIC ACID POLYMERASE. J Biol Chem. 1964 Jan;239:175–185. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. 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]
  7. STEVENS A., HENRY J. STUDIES ON THE RIBONUCLEIC ACID POLYMERASE FROM ESCHERICHIA COLI. I. PURIFICATION OF THE ENZYME AND STUDIES OF RIBONUCLEIC ACID FORMATION. J Biol Chem. 1964 Jan;239:196–203. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. TS'O P. O., BONNER J., VINOGRAD J. Structure and properties of microsomal nucleoprotein particles from pea seedlings. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1958 Dec;30(3):570–582. doi: 10.1016/0006-3002(58)90104-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. WEBLEY D. M., DUFF R. B., ANDERSON G. The metabolism of iron-, zinc- and manganese-deficient Nocardia opaca. J Gen Microbiol. 1962 Sep;29:179–187. doi: 10.1099/00221287-29-1-179. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. WEBLEY D. M. The effect of deficiency of iron, zinc and manganese on the growth and morphology of Nocardia opaca. J Gen Microbiol. 1960 Aug;23:87–92. doi: 10.1099/00221287-23-1-87. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES