Sucrose catabolism in Clostridium pasteurianum and its relation to N2 fixation

Abstract

The growth constant and Y (sucrose) (grams of cells per mole of sucrose) for NH(3)-grown cultures of Clostridium pasteurianum were 1.7 times those of N(2)-grown cultures, whereas the rate of sucrose utilized per gram of cells per hour was similar for both conditions. The Y (sucrose) of chemostat cultures grown on limiting NH(3) under argon at generation times equal to those of N(2)-fixing cultures was less than that of cultures grown on excess NH(3), but cells of NH(3)-limited cultures contained the N(2)-fixing system in high concentration. The concentration of the N(2)-fixing system in whole cells, when measured with adenosine triphosphate (ATP) nonlimiting, was more than twofold greater than the amount needed for the N(2) actually fixed. Thus, energy production from sucrose, and not the concentration of the N(2)-fixing system nor the maximal rate at which N(2) could be fixed, was the limiting factor for growth of N(2)-fixing cells. Either NH(3) or some product of NH(3) metabolism partially regulated the rate of sucrose metabolism since, when cultures fixing N(2), growing on NH(3), or growing on limiting NH(3) in the absence of N(2) were deprived of their nitrogen source, the rate of sucrose catabplism decreased. Calculations showed that the rate of ATP production was the growth rate-limiting factor in cells grown on N(2), and that the increased sucrose requirement of N(2)-fixing cultures in part reflected the energy demand of N(2) fixation. Calculations indicated that whole cells require about 20 moles of ATP for the fixation of 1 mole of N(2) to 2 moles of NH(3).