Summary
Mycobacterium smegmatis was grown in shaken culture in carbon-, nitrogen- and iron-limited media, adjusted to decelerate at about the same time. The exponential phase was brief; the initiation of a more prolonged deceleration phase being probably due to the granular form of growth. Iron-limited cultures showed prolonged slow growth. In all three cultures the RNA/nitrogen ratio was high at the beginning of the period of maximal growth and declined thereafter. The DNA/nitrogen ratio also declined in the iron-limited cultures, but increased somewhat in the nitrogen-limited cultures and, after a brief decline, increased markedly in the carbon-limited cultures. In all cultures the soluble deoxyribonucleotide pool stayed within the range of 10–50 μmoles/g. of nitrogen, while the total soluble nucleotide pool fell from about 1000 to about 250 μmoles/g. of nitrogen as the growth rate declined.
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We thank Miss Anne Murphy for technical assistance. M.P.C. received a maintenance grant from the Department of Education, Republic of Ireland. The work was supported by grants from the Medical Research Council of Ireland, and from Shell International Petroleum Company Limited.
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Winder, F.G., Coughlan, M.P. Comparison of the effects of carbon, nitrogen and iron limitation on the growth and on the RNA and DNA content ofmycobacterium smegmatis . I.J.M.S. 140, 16–25 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02937769
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02937769