The reduction of diacetyl and acetoin in Aerobacter aerogenes. Evidence for one enzyme catalyzing both reactions

Effect of acetate upon the formation of acetoin in Klebsiella and Enterobacter and it possible practical application in a rapid voges-proskauer test

Acetate stimulates the formation of acetoin during 1-h incubation of Voges-Proskauer-positive strains of Klebsiella and Enterobacter. Of these organisms, 124 of 126 strains were recognized as positive in the presence of acetate, and 106 were recognized as positive in its absence.

Studies of the acetate kinase-phosphotransacetylase and the butanediol-forming systems in Aerobacter aerogenes

Mutants of Aerobacter aerogenes devoid of acetate kinase and phosphotransacetylase activities were isolated by selection for resistance to fluoroacetate on lactate medium. The mutants were used to study the role of the acetate kinase-phosphotransacetylase system in growth on acetate and glucose. Acetate kinase-negative and phosphotransacetylase-negative mutants were unable to grow on acetate minimal medium. Their growth rates on glucose minimal medium were identical with that of the parent strain under aerobic conditions, but lower growth rates were observed in the mutant strains during anaerobic growth on glucose medium. The mutants were unable to incorporate [2-(14)C]-acetate rapidly while growing on glycerol. Variations in acetate kinase and phosphotransacetylase levels during growth on glucose were studied. The specific activities of the enzymes increased approximately fivefold during aerobic growth on glucose in batch culture. The enzyme levels were also studied during anaerobic growth on glucose at constant pH (pH 5.8 and 7.0). Smaller increases in specific activities were found under these conditions. The role of acetate in the induction of the diacetyl (acetoin) reductase was investigated using a mutant deficient in both acetate kinase and phosphotransacetylase. The effect of pH on the induction of this enzyme during growth on glucose under anaerobic conditions was tested. The data support the idea that free acetic acid is the inducer for the enzymes of the butanediol-forming pathway in A. aerogenes.