Nutrition of Eidamella deflexa. IV. Rate of utilization of sugar and amino nitrogen compared with rate of growth and pigment elaboration.

Abstract

The rate of utilization byEidamella deflexa of non-protein nitrogen and dextrose equivalent (reducing sugar) was investigated in each of two media, and compared with rates of growth and pigment elaboration. In a glycine-maltose basal medium the depletion curves for nitrogen and D.E. followed a similar pattern, with the lowest point on the curves corresponding to the period of maximum production of cellular material. With autolysis of cells there was a definite increase in D.E. and a slight increase in amino nitrogen in the medium. In a peptone-sucrose medium both D.E. and amino nitrogen were removed from the medium at a more or less similar and constant rate, but the final amount of each remaining in the medium after eleven days was considerably less than that in the glycinemaltose medium although the latter medium permitted greater growth and pigment elaboration. There seemed to be no correlation between rates of utilization of nitrogen and sugar and the period of maximum growth in the sucrose-peptone medium. In neither medium was there an apparent relation between the rate of onset of pigment production and the rate of utilization of nitrogen and sugar.