Immunoferritin labeling of respiratory nitrate reductase in membrane vesicles of Bacillus licheniformis and Klebsiella aerogenes

The indirect immunoferritin labeling method was used to localize the membrane-bound respiratory nitrate reductase in membrane vesicles and protoplasts or spheroplasts of Bacillus licheniformis and Klebsiella aerogenes, respectively. For a comparison of the labeling of the various vesicle preparations, which differed not only in size but also in the percentage of inside-out orientation, a quantification of the results was needed to circumvent the problem of non-specifically bound ferritin. From the results the sidedness of the nitrate reductase in the cytoplasmic membrane of the abovementioned bacteria was determined as being cytoplasmic in B. licheniformis and as transmembranous in K. aerogenes.Non-Standard Abbreviations PBS phosphate buffered saline - IgG immunoglobulin G