MUTATIONS INFLUENCING THE ASSIMILATION OF NITROGEN BY PASTEURELLA PESTIS,

Abstract

Cells of Pasteurella pseudotuberculosis, a species known to possess glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase G6PD(+) and urease Ure(+), grew rapidly on a nitrogen-deficient (ND) medium supplemented with NH4(+), urea, or any one of six amino acids. Comparable growth of related, but G6PD and Ure(-), Pasteurella pestis was obtained only with L-glutamine or a combination NH4(+) plus glycine, L-threonine, or glyoxylate. Both species grew slowly on ND medium plus L-glutamate. Glycine alone supported slow growth of P. pseudotuberculosis and certain strains of P. pestis (termed G(+)) and G(+) mutants were selected from remaining strains of the latter species by use of ND agar plus glycine. ND agar plus NH4(+) was selective for a second class of P. pestis mutant (termed N(+). Ure(+) mutants of P. pestis were isolated on ND agar plus urea previously inoculated with N(+), G(+), cells; similar inoculation with N(+), G(-), organisms yielded only G(+) mutants. Mutation of P. pestis to N(+), G(+), or Ure(+) did not result in conversion to G6PD(+) or to acquisition of other properties peculiar to P. pseudotuberculosis. The poor growth of wild-type P. pestis on ND medium plus NH4(+) is attributed to a deficiency of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate necessary for reductive amination of alpha-ketoglutarate. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1967
Accession Number
AD0806660

Entities

People

  • Robert R. Brubaker

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Amino Acids
  • Amino Acids Peptides And Proteins
  • Assimilation
  • Biomolecules
  • Chemical Compounds
  • Conversion
  • Deficiencies
  • Gammaproteobacteria
  • Glutamates
  • Glutamine
  • Inoculation
  • Mutations
  • Neutral Amino Acids
  • Nitrogen
  • Threonine

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Aquatic Ecology
  • Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry
  • Molecular and genetic basis of cancer.