title: Effects of low-level deuterium enrichment on bacterial growth.
abstract: Using very precise (±0.05%) measurements of the growth parameters for bacteria E. coli grown on minimal media, we aimed to determine the lowest deuterium concentration at which the adverse effects that are prominent at higher enrichments start to become noticeable. Such a threshold was found at 0.5% D, a surprisingly high value, while the ultralow deuterium concentrations (≤0.25% D) showed signs of the opposite trend. Bacterial adaptation for 400 generations in isotopically different environment confirmed preference for ultralow (≤0.25% D) enrichment. This effect appears to be similar to those described in sporadic but multiple earlier reports. Possible explanations include hormesis and isotopic resonance phenomena, with the latter explanation being favored.
authors.affiliation: Division of Physiological Chemistry I, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Xueshu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Division of Physiological Chemistry I, Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Roman A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Zubarev
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D003470:Culture Media; D003903:Deuterium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000254:growth & development*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D003903:Deuterium