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Alkaline phosphatase activity of Escherichia coli starved in sterile lake water microcosms
Author(s) -
Ozkanca R.,
Flint K.P.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of applied bacteriology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 0021-8847
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2672.1996.tb03217.x
Subject(s) - derepression , microcosm , alkaline phosphatase , escherichia coli , chloramphenicol , substrate (aquarium) , phosphatase , enzyme , chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , phosphate , inoculation , biology , biochemistry , environmental chemistry , ecology , antibiotics , psychological repression , horticulture , gene expression , gene
Escherichia coli grown in high or low phosphate medium was inoculated into a lake water starvation medium. The viable count decreased at 37°C but not at the lower temperatures over 70 d. Alkaline phosphatase was monitored using a colorimetric assay with pNPP as the substrate. Derepression of the enzyme occurred in cultures starved for > 30 d in the lake water and within 5 d in lake water microcosms supplemented with carbon and nitrogen sources where there was rarely an increase in viable count. Chloramphenicol prevented the synthesis of alkaline phosphatase suggesting that, even under starvation conditions, de novo synthesis of the enzyme occurs.