On the measurement of pH in Escherichia coli by 31P nuclear magnetic resonance.
The 31P high resolution NMR spectra of concentrated suspensions of Escherichia coli cells have been measured at 145.8 MHz. The position of the orthophosphate resonance is used as a measure of internal and external pH. In accord with Paddan, Zilberstein and Rottenberg ((1976) Eur. J. Biochem. 63, 533--541) it is shown that when properly energized the internal pH is 7.5 +/- 0.1. By synchronizing the NMR data acquisition with 3-s bursts of O2 it is possible to measure the internal pH with a time resolution of about 1 s. It is shown that at 20 degrees C the pH remains constant for times longer than 15 s after the oxygen is discontinued and it decays in several minutes.
D004926:Escherichia coli; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods; D010758:Phosphorus
D010758:Phosphorus