An investigation into the electro-physical characteristics of microbial cells during the metabolism of toxic compounds under conditions of limited O-2 availability

The purpose of the work reported here was to experimentally clarify the int erconnection between changes in the electrophysical characteristics of micr obial suspensions and processes of the metabolism of certain toxic compound s (acrylamide and p-nitrophenol (PNP)) in cells containing enzyme systems o f the initial metabolism of these compounds. In this work, we used cells of two strains, Acinetobacter calcoaceticum A-122 and Brevibacterium sp, 13PA , which are capable of utilising PNP and acrylamide, respectively, as the s ole source of carbon. Suspensions of these cells exhibited appreciable decr eases in the magnitude of the electro-optical signal when the microbial met abolism of PNP and acrylamide was inhibited under conditions of limited O-2 ? supply. This attests to a relationship between the electro-physical chara cteristics of microbial suspensions and cellular metabolic reactions and al so to the negligibly small effect that the non-specific interaction of subs trate with the cells has on the suspensions' electro-optical properties. (C )1999 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevi er Science B.V. All rights reserved.