Evidence that Escherichia coli accumulates glycine betaine from marine sediments.
Escherichia coli grew faster in autoclaved marine sediment than in seawater alone. When E. coli was cultivated in sediment diluted with minimal medium M63 at 0.6 M NaCl, supplemented or not supplemented with glucose or with seawater, the osmoprotector glycine betaine was accumulated in the cells. The best growth occurred on glucose. Accumulation of glycine betaine was not observed with E. coli was grown in sterile seawater alone. The fact that E. coli grew better in the sediments than in seawater is attributed somewhat to the high content of organic matter in the sediment but mainly to the accumulation of glycine betaine. Thus, osmoprotection should be considered to be an additional factor in bacterial survival in estuarine sediments.
Laboratoire de Microbiologie Pharmaceutique, Université de Rennes I, France.
M
M
Ghoul
T
T
Bernard
M
M
Cormier
D001622:Betaine / Q000378:metabolism*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D012623:Seawater; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014882:Water-Electrolyte Balance
D001622:Betaine