Regulation of polyphosphate metabolism in Acinetobacter strain 210A grown in carbon- and phosphate-limited continuous cultures

Abstract

The response of Acinetobacter strain 210A to low phosphate concentrations was investigated in P- or C-limited chemostat cultures. The organism accumulated poly-β-hydroxybutyric acid under P-deprivation, at phosphate concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 0.7 mM. The amount of biomass was proportional to the phosphate concentration in the medium and no polyphosphate was formed. When shifting a culture from P- to C-limitation phosphate was accumulated as polyphosphate. No poly-β-hydroxybutyrate could be detected in these cells. The amount of polyphosphate in the cell showed a hysteresis. When cultures were shifted from low to high phosphate concentrations, polyphosphate reached a maximum of about 60 mg P per gram of dry weight at about 3 times excess phosphate (ca. 2.5 mM Pi). It decreased to 45 mg P per gram dry weight at approximately 5 times the phosphate needed for growth (ca. 3.5 mM Pi). In the reverse case (high to low) polyphosphate did never exceed 45 mg P per gram dry weight. The specific activities of alkaline phosphatase and the phosphate uptake system were induced at residual Pi concentrations below the detection limit (<10 μM). The specific uptake rate followed also a hysteresis. The specific activities of polyphosphatase and polyphosphate: AMP phosphotransferase increased when polyphosphate formation was possible.