STUDIES ON THE AEROBIC OXIDATION OF FATTY ACIDS BY BACTERIA I

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Abstract
26 strains of aerobic and facultative bacteria could oxidize fatty acids of intermediate length (C5 to C16). Of these strains, all but 3 oxidized these compounds without a lag period, when glucose-grown cell suspensions were tested, indicating that constitutive enzymes are involved. Two strains of Serratia marcescens and 1 of Bacillus brevis showed a definite lag period when the glucose-grown cells were tested for oxidation of fatty acids. Cell suspensions of the same strains grown on a fatty acid substrate oxidized that fatty acid without a lag period. The elimination of the lag period by growth on the specific substrate makes it likely that for these 3 strains the fatty acids are being oxidized by means of adaptive enzymes.