The presence of aluminum in a minimal mineral medium, with citrate as
the sole source of carbon, elicited the production of an exocellular l
ipid-rich residue in Pseudomonas fluorescens. Although aluminum affect
ed the growth rate, no apparent diminution in cellular yield was obser
ved in medium supplemented with up to 3 mM of the trivalent metal. Whi
le a 10% reduction in cellular yield was recorded in medium with 7.5 m
M aluminum, a decrease of 69% was reported in medium supplemented with
50 mM aluminum at stationary phase of growth. The wet weight of the p
ellet ranged from 5.9 to 70.3 mg mL(-1) of culture in medium supplemen
ted with 1-30 mM aluminum. The trivalent metal was immobilized in this
precipitate and associated with phosphate moieties. Both neutral lipi
ds and phospholipids constituted the pellet. More than 90% of the weig
ht of the wet pellet was lost following lyophilization. The percentage
of aluminum immobilized increased with the concentration of trivalent
metal in the medium. Preconditioned cells showed an improved growth r
ate, and the cellular yield was slightly higher than for unadapted cel
ls.