Characterization of a citrate-negative mutant ofLeuconostoc mesenteroides subsp.mesenteroides: metabolic and plasmidic properties

Summary Comparison of the parental strain of the Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides (19D) and its citrate-negative mutant, which has lost a 22-kb plasmid, has confirmed the energetic role of citrate. Fermentation balance analysis showed that citrate led to a change in heterolactic fermentation from glucose. High levels of enzyme activity in both mutant and parental strains were found for NADH oxidase, lactate dehydrogenase, acetate kinase, alcohol dehydrogenase, diacetyl reductase and acetoin reductase, although NADH oxidase, alcohol dehydrogenase, diacetyl reductase and acetoin reductase were partly repressed by citrate. All these enzymes studied were not plasmid linked. In the parental strain, citrate lyase was induced by citrate. No citrate lyase activity was found in the citrate-negative mutant grown in presence of citrate, but this does not provide evidence that citrate lyase is linked to the 22-kb plasmid. Offprint requests to: C. Diviès