A DENITRIFYING STRAIN OF RHODOBACTER-CAPSULATUS

Repeated subculturing of Rhodobacter capsulatus strain BK5 under photo trophic conditions on a medium containing butyrate and nitrate led to the appearance of cultures that, unlike the original, produced gas. Is olation of a pure culture of the gas-forming organism revealed that it was a derivative of R. capsulatus BK5 that by virtue of expressing a nitrite reductase can catalyse the complete sequence of the denitrific ation reactions. The nitrite reductase is of the type that contains co pper rather than haem.