Effect of biotin on fatty acids and phospholipids of biotin-sensitive strains of Rhizobium japonicum.

The effect of biotin on fatty acids and intact lipids was studied by comparing a biotin-requiring, a biotin-inhibited, and a biotin-indifferent strain of Rhizobium japonicum. These organisms were grown in a defined medium with added levels of 0, 0.3, and 0.

Gluconate catabolism in Rhizobium japonicum.

Gluconate catabolism in Rhizobium japonicum ATCC 10324 was investigated by the radiorespirometric method and by assaying for key enzymes of the major energy-yielding pathways. Specifically labeled gluconate gave the following results for growing cells, with values expressed as per cent (14)CO(2) evolution: C-1 = 93%, C-2 = 57%, C-3 = 30%, C-4 = 70%, C-6 = 39%. The preferential release of (14)CO(2) from C-1 and C-4 indicate that gluconate is degraded primarily by the Entner-Doudoroff pathway but the inequalities between C-1 and C-4 and between C-3 and C-6 indicate that another pathway(s) also participates.