Abstract
Klebsiella aerogenes NCTC 418 was grown anaerobically in chemostat culture with glycerol as source of carbon and energy. Glycerol-limited cultures did not ferment the carbon source with maximal efficiency but produced considerable amounts of 1,3-propanediol. The fraction of glycerol converted to this product depended on the growth rate and on the limitation: faster growing cells produced relatively more of this compound. Under glycerol excess conditions the energetic efficiency of fermentation was decreased due to the high 1,3-propanediol excretion rate. Evidence is presented that 1,3-propanediol accumulation exerts a profound effect on the cells' metabolic behaviour.
When steady state glycerol-limited cultures were instantaneously relieved of the growth limitation a vastly enhanced glycerol uptake rate was observed, accompanied by a shift in the fermentation pattern towards 1,3-propanediol and acetate. This observation was consistent with the extremely high glycerol dehydrogenase activity that was measured in vitro. Some mechanisms that could be responsible for the energy dissipation during this response are discussed.
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Streekstra, H., Teixeira de Mattos, M.J., Neijssel, O.M. et al. Overflow metabolism during anaerobic growth of Klebsiella aerogenes NCTC 418 on glycerol and dihydroxyacetone in chemostat culture. Arch. Microbiol. 147, 268–275 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00463487
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00463487