Metabolic Reactions of Pasteurella Pestis I

Abstract

Knowledge of the metabolism of Pasteurella petsis remains fragmentary and indirect, despite the fact that plague has long been the subject of considerable research. Information concerning the nutritional requirements of P. pestis can be found in the reports of Rao, 1940b; Doudoroff, 1943; Hills and Spurr, 1952; Rockenmacher et al., 1952. Completely lacking are quantitative metabolic data on nonproliferating, resting cells. It is known that resting cells of P. pestis will oxidize a variety of organic compounds including carbohydrates, amino acids, and several metabolically important organic acids (Rao, 1940a). Doudoroff (1943) established that growing cultures metabolize glucose via pyruvate and that P. pestis will produce lactic, acetic, formic, and succinic acids, ethanol, C02, and small amounts of pyruvate anaerobically in complex media containing glucose.

The metabolism of Brucellae: The oxidation of succinate as a function of pH and concentration

“…The pooling of amino acids has not been found in gram-negative bacteria in general (11) nor here. Our failure to observe pooling of succinate or pyruvate differs from the recent report (12) of such acids in two gram-negative bacteria; however, our procedures would not likely detect the very low levels so reported. There remains also the possibility of a diffusible pool, lost in washing.…”

ENDOGENOUS RESPIRATION AND OXIDATIVE ASSIMILATION IN NOCARDIA CORALLINA

“…The nature of the curves suggested that an autocatalytic process occurred during acetate oxidation by the cells. In young cells the oxidation of the endogenous substrates may be assumed to supply the citric acid cycle intermediates required for acetate oxidation (Santer and Ajl, 1954). However, strain S has been shown to possess isocitritase activity and, in cells having no endogenous respiration, the glyoxylate by-pass mechanism (Kornberg and Krebs, 1957) may be considered to supply citric acid cycle intermediates for the terminal oxidation of the acetate.…”

The Endogenous Respiration of Microorganisms

“…This result contrasts with that of Wiame and Doudoroff (1951), using Pseudomonas saccharophila, but agrees with those of Cochrane and Gibbs (1951), Gibbs and Wood (1952), Blumenthal et at. (1951), Reiner et al (1949), and Santer and Ajl (1954) with other microorganisms.…”