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Heterotrophic capacities of Plectonema boryanum

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Abstract

Acquisition of the dark heterotrophic growth capacity on glucose in Plectonema boryanum involves both adaptation and enrichment of a fast-growing genotype. The adaptation includes induction of functions involved in glucose incorporation and increase in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity. Photosynthetic products are implicated in the control of both systems. Efficient energy conversion in the dark, as measured by cyanophage multiplication, correlates in time with the increase in potential for glucose incorporation while heterotrophic growth capacity correlates with the increase in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity. The lower efficiency of heterotrophic growth compared to photoautotrophic growth is discussed in light of the conservation of the photosynthetic potency in the heterotrophic cells.

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Abbreviations

DCMU:

3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea

DTT:

dithiothreitol

G6P:

glucose-6-phosphate

NADP:

nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate

NTG:

N-methyl-N′-nitro-N′-nitrosoguanidine

RUDP:

ribulose-1,5-diphosphate

TCA:

trichloroacetic acid

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiological Chemistry, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel

    Bilha Raboy, Etana Padan & Moshe Shilo

Authors
  1. Bilha Raboy
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  2. Etana Padan
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  3. Moshe Shilo
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Dedicated to Prof. R. Y. Stanier on the occasion of his 60th birthday

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Raboy, B., Padan, E. & Shilo, M. Heterotrophic capacities of Plectonema boryanum . Arch. Microbiol. 110, 77–85 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00416971

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00416971

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