This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Payne, W. J. Articles by Cox, C. D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Payne, W. J. Articles by Cox, C. D., Jr.

Separate Nitrite, Nitric Oxide, and Nitrous Oxide Reducing Fractions from Pseudomonas perfectomarinus

^a Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30601

ABSTRACT

Pseudomonas perfectomarinus was found to grow anaerobically at the expense of nitrate, nitrite, or nitrous oxide but not chlorate or nitric oxide. In several repetitive experiments, anaerobic incubation in culture media containing nitrate revealed that an average of 82% of the cells in aerobically grown populations were converted to the capacity for respiration of nitrate. Although they did not form colonies under these conditions, the bacteria synthesized the denitrifying enzymes within 3 hr in the absence of oxygen or another acceptable inorganic oxidant. This was demonstrated by the ability, after anaerobic incubation, of cells and of extracts to reduce nitrite, nitric oxide, and nitrous oxide to nitrogen. From crude extracts of cells grown on nitrate, nitrite, or nitrous oxide, separate complex fractions were obtained that utilized reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide as the source of electrons for the reduction of (i) nitrite to nitric oxide, (ii) nitric oxide to nitrous oxide, and (iii) nitrous oxide to nitrogen. Gas chromatographic analyses revealed that each of these fractions reduced only one of the nitrogenous oxides.

¹ Present address: Department of Biochemistry, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Ga. 30904.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Mazoch, J., Kunak, M., Kucera, I., van Spanning, R. J. M. (2003). Fine-tuned regulation by oxygen and nitric oxide of the activity of a semi-synthetic FNR-dependent promoter and expression of denitrification enzymes in Paracoccus denitrificans. Microbiology 149: 3405-3412 [Abstract] [Full Text]