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J Bacteriol. 1968 April; 95(4): 1380-1387
Copyright © 1968 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Regulation and Function of Lactate Oxidation in Streptococcus faecium

¹ National Institute of Dental Research, and the American Dental Association, Bethesda, Maryland 20014

ABSTRACT

Regulation of the synthesis and function of an L(+)-specific lactate-oxidizing enzyme system found in a homofermentative Streptococcus was investigated. With the exception of fructose, aerobic growth at the expense of a variety of substrates resulted in the formation of a lactate oxidation system; anaerobic growth resulted in a marked reduction or complete loss of lactate-oxidizing activity. Growth on fructose, under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, invariably produced a decrease in the activity of the lactate oxidation system. A negative control, activated by an early intermediate product of glycolysis, appeared to be responsible for repression of the lactate-oxidizing enzyme(s). The enzyme system confers upon the organism the ability to grow aerobically at the expense of L(+)-lactic acid.