Role of adenine nucleotides in the regulation of bacterial energy metabolism: theoretical problems and experimental pitfalls.
The effect of growth rate on ATP pool and adenylate energy charge (EC) value of Escherichia coli has been studied in batch culture on different media (mu max varying from 0.1 h-1 to 1.2 h-2) and in continuous culture at dilution rates (D = mu) from 0.045 h-1 to 0.310 h-1. Within the limits of error both ATP pool and EC values did not change with alterations in the relative growth rate of E. coli. The effect of in vivo EC values on experimental errors in ATP, ADP and AMP measurements with the luciferin-luciferase method, and, subsequently, on measurements of different ratios between adenylates, as in the case of adenylate kinase in vivo equilibrium, is discussed.