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R C Perez

Publications and source records attributed to R C Perez.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1982

Carbon dioxide assimilation by Thiobacillus novellus under nutrient-limited mixotrophic conditions.

The contribution of CO2 to cell material synthesis in Thiobacillus novellus under nutrient-limited conditions was estimated by comparing 14CO2 uptake rates of steady-state autotrophic cultures with that of heterotrophic and mixotrophic cultures at a given dilution rate. Under heterotrophic conditions, some 13% of the cell carbon was derived from CO2; this is similar to the usual anaplerotic CO2 fixation in batch cultures of heterotrophic bacteria. Under mixotrophic conditions, the contribution of CO2 to cell material synthesis increased with increasing S2O3 2- -to-glucose ratio in the medium inflow; at a ratio of 10, ca. 32% of the cell carbon was synthesized from CO2. We speculate that the use of CO2 as carbon source, even when the glucose provided is sufficient to fulfill the biosynthetic needs, may augment the growth rate of the bacterium under such nutrient-limited conditions and could therefore be of survival value in nature. Some of the CO2 assimilated was excreted into the medium as organic compounds under all growth conditions, but in large amounts only in autotrophic environments as very low dilution rates.

Biotin↗
PubMed1980

Growth of Thiobacillus novellus on mixed substrates (mixotrophic growth).

In a mixotrophic environment, Thiobacillus novellus concurrently utilized glucose and thiosulfate but showed no stimulation of growth rate or yield. In most mixotrophic environments examined, the growth rate was lower than the heterotrophic growth rate, the extent of the decrease depending on the concentration and relative proportion of thiosulfate and glucose in the medium. Both thiosulfate and glucose were degraded to their most oxidized products in mixotrophic medium, yet the biomass production in this medium was comparable to that found in heterotrophic medium containing glucose alone at the corresponding concentration. It was postulated that in mixotrophic medium the oxidation of thiosulfate, glucose, or partially that of both was uncoupled from energy generation. These results differ in many respects from those reported earlier by LeJohn et al. (J. Bacteriol. 94: 1484--1491, 1967); experiments designed to exactly duplicate some of the growth conditions employed by these workers did not resolve the discrepancy.

Culture Media↗
PubMed1980

Regulation of glucose transport and metabolism in Thiobacillus novellus.

To investigate the physiological basis of decreased rate of glucose utilization by Thiobacillus novellus in a mixotrophic environment (R. C. Perez and A. Matin, J. Bacteriol. 142:633-638, 1980), its glucose transport system was characterized and the modulation of this system as well as enzymes of glucose metabolism by the growth environment was examined. Uptake of 2-deoxy-d-glucose by cell suspensions was almost abolished by respiratory chain inhibitors, and the sugar accumulated unchanged inside the cells against a concentration gradient: its transport is probably linked to the proton electrochemical gradient. The glucose transport system, as well as several enzymes of glucose metabolism, had a high specific activity in heterotrophic cells, intermediate activity in mixotrophic cells, and low activity in autotrophic cells; thus, they are induced by glucose but repressed by thiosulfate, its metabolites, or both. Thiosulfate and sulfite inhibited the glucose transport system uncompetitively and noncompetitively, respectively (apparent K(i) = 3.1 x 10(-2) M and 3.3 x 10(-7) M, respectively) and also inhibited glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity. Thus, the rate of glucose utilization in mixotrophic environments decreased because thiosulfate and its metabolites repress as well as inhibit the glucose transport system and enzymes of glucose metabolism. The significance of this and other regulatory phenomena that come into play in such environments is discussed.

Biological Transport, Active↗