Transitional Steady‐State Investigations during Aerobic‐Anaerobic Transition of Glucose Utilization by Escherichia coli K‐12

Abstract

Transitional steady‐state investigations during changes in oxygen tension under aerobic and during aerobic‐anaerobic transition conditions were carried out with the aim of finding an indicator system which separates the equilibrium from the non‐equilibrium state. Of the parameters used i.e. biomass formation, CO2 production, QO2, NADH oxidase, succinate dehydrogenase, phosphofructokinase, glyceraldehyde‐3‐phosphate dehydrogenase, 6‐phosphogluconate dehydrogenase and 2‐oxoglutarate dehydrogenase, only the three enzymes requiring NADH or NADP for their function fulfilled the requirements. Biomass production and CO2 formation were useful only during the aerobic‐anaerobic transition period. In each case the reponse was immediate and the indicator systems demonstrated that a new steady state of oxygen was always obtained after 11 h which, at the specific growth rate used, was equivalent to at least two volume replacements of the growth vessel. Copyright © 1978, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved