NITRATE REDUCTASE IN PHOTOSYNTHETIC BACTERIUM, RHODOSPIRILLUM RUBRUM. ADAPTIVE FORMATION OF NITRATE REDUCTASE

1. A method was discovered for adapting the cells of Rhodospirillumrubrum to grow on a nitrate medium, a capacity initially lackingin the organism. The adapted cells were able to grow with nitrateas the sole source of nitrogen. The growth responses of theadapted cells towards various nitrogenous sources were investigatedunder various conditions of incubation (aero- and anaerobiosis,light and dark).
2. The adapted cells were found to have simultaneouslyacquiredthe capacity for reducing nitrite and hydroxylamineas wellas nitrate. The path of nitrogen in the adapted cellswas assumedto be as follows: NO₃^– NO₂^– NH₂OH CellularNitrogen.
3. Nitrate metabolism of the adapted cells was investigatedundervarious conditions. In the light, nitrate was reducedand furtherassimilated, leaving insignificant amounts of nitritein themedium. In this case, consumption of nitrate was markedlyinhibitedby other forms of nitrogen (e.g., nitrite, hydroxylamine,aminoacids and ammonium salts). In the dark, nitrate was reducedas the terminal hydrogen acceptor in the oxidative breakdownof organic substances (e.g., malate) in the medium (i.e., nitraterespiration). More nitrite was accumulated in this case thanin the light. Molecular oxygen inhibited the reduction of, aswell as the growth on, nitrate in any of the above cases.
4. Theeffects on the rate of nitrate reduction (and respiratoryoxygenuptake) caused by various experimental factors (pH, nitrateconcentration, electron donors, and addition of hydroxylamine)were investigated, using the resting cells of the adapted organism.

¹ This paper was submitted to the University of Tokyo to fulfillthe requirement for the author's doctorate. ² Present Address: Botanical Institute, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku,Kyoto. (Received February 14, 1963; )