Abstract
Campylobacter sputorum subspecies bubulus was grown in continuous culture with excess of l-lactate or formate, and growth-limiting amounts of oxygen, fumarate, nitrate or nitrite. l-Lactate was oxidized to acetate, fumarate was reduced to succinate, and nitrate and nitrite were reduced to ammonia. The Y lactate values (g dry weight bacteria/g mol lactate) for the respective hydrogen acceptors were much higher than the Y formate values. Steady state cultures on formate and nitrite could only be obtained at a low dilution rate and low nitrite concentrations in the growth medium. In →H+/2e measurements with lactate-grown cells proton ejections were observed with lactate or pyruvate as a hydrogen donor, and oxygen or hydrogen peroxide as a hydrogen acceptor. Proton ejection was also observed with pyruvate and nitrate. Proton ejection did not occur with lactate and nitrate, neither with lactate or pyruvate and fumarate or nitrite. With formate as a hydrogen donor acidification occurred with all hydrogen acceptors mentioned. It has been concluded that during growth on lactate and fumarate or nitrite substrate level phosphorylation at acetate formation is the sole ATP-generating system. Growth on formate and fumarate or nitrite is explained by a proton gradient generated as a result of oxidation of formate at the periplasmic side of the cytoplasmic membrane. With oxygen and nitrate additional ATP is formed by electron transport-linked phosphorylation. The low molar growth yields with formate are explained by the observation that formate-grown cells had a great permeability to protons.
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Abbreviations
- → H+/2e value:
-
number of protons ejected per electron pair transported in the respiratory system
- P/2e value:
-
mol of ATP formed per electron pair transported in the respiratory system
- CCCP:
-
carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl-hydrazone
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de Vries, W., Niekus, H.G.D., Boellaard, M. et al. Growth yields and energy generation by Campylobacter sputorum subspecies bubulus during growth in continuous culture with different hydrogen acceptors. Arch. Microbiol. 124, 221–227 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00427730
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00427730