Abstract
Both the changes in the activities of nitrogenase, glutamine synthetase and glutamate dehydrogenase and in the extracellular and intracellular NH4 + concentrations were investigated during the transition from an NH4 + free medium to one containing NH4 + ions for a continuous culture of Azotobacter vinelandii. If added in amounts causing 80–100% repression of nitrogenase, ammonium acetate, lactate and phosphate are absorbed completely, whereas chloride, sulfate and citrate are only taken up to about 80%. After about 1–2 hrs the NH4 + remaining in the medium is absorbed too, indicating the induction or activation of a new NH4 + transport system. One of the new permeases allows the uptake of citrate in the presence of sucrose. Addition of inorganic NH4 + salts leads to acidification of the culture. Anaerobiosis suppresses NH4 + transport.
A rise in the extracellular NH4 + level leads to a reversible rise in the glutamine synthetase activity, which is not prevented by chloramphenicol, and to a reversible decrease in nitrogenase activity. During these measurements glutamate dehydrogenase activity remains close to zero. The intracellular NH4 + level of about 0.6 mM does not change when extracellular NH4 + is taken up and repression of nitrogenase starts.
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Abbreviations
- OD:
-
optical density
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Kleiner, D. Ammonium uptake by nitrogen fixing bacteria. Arch. Microbiol. 104, 163–169 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00447319
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00447319