Abstract
The uptake of glutamine was studied in Bacillus pasteurii DSM 33. Only one uptake system was detected in the concentration range studied (between 1 and 100 μM glutamine) which exhibited Michaelis-Menten saturation kinetics, with an apparent K t of 10.7 (±3.5) μM glutamine. The uptake was sodium-dependent (apparent K t=0.2 mM Na+); none of several monovalent cations tested was able to replace sodium in the uptake reaction. Ionophores interfering with proton, sodium or potassium gradients across membranes strongly inhibited uptake of glutamine. Low uptake rates correlating with low potassium content and an acidic cytoplasm were measured in cells grown at high ammonium1 concentrations. Ammonium and other permeant amines as well as potassium stimulated the uptake reaction in these cells, leading to an increase of up to 100-fold in V max without affecting the affinity of the uptake system. In cells grown at low concentrations of ammonium, an alkaline cytoplasm and both high glutamine uptake activities and potassium content were measured; the uptake reaction was not further stimulated by permeant amines or potassium in such cells. Growth of the strain was inhibited by Tris at high concentrations; this inhibition was relieved by the addition of increasing amounts of ammonium.
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Abbreviations
- CCCP:
-
carbonylcyanide-m-chlorphenylhydrazone
- DCCD:
-
dicyclohexylcarbodiimide
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This work is dedicated to Prof. Dr. H. Kaltwasser on the occasion of his 60th birthday
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Jahns, T. Ammonium-stimulated, sodium-dependent uptake of glutamine in Bacillus pasteurii . Arch. Microbiol. 161, 207–214 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00248694
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00248694