THE EFFECT OF METABOLITES UPON GROWTH AND VARIATION OF BRUCELLA ABORTUS

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Abstract
The appln. of paper chromatography to studies of the growth and variation of smooth B. abortus in Gerhardt and Wilson''s synthetic medium revealed a striking correlation between the accumulation of certain amino acids in the medium and the appearance of non-smooth variants. The role of alanine in favoring the establishment of non-smooth variants was verified by the addition of filtrates of old cultures or of alanine alone to freshly inoculated smooth cultures in synthetic medium. Under both conditions, a more rapid and enhanced establishment of non-smooth variants was observed, and it was found that alanine markedly suppressed the viable count of smooth cells but failed to exhibit a similar marked effect on non-smooth types. It thus appears that the accumulation of alanine as a metabolite of smooth cells creates an environment favorable for the establishment of spontaneously occurring non-smooth variants. The possible metabolic pathways involved and the relation of these data to general phenomena of population changes are discussed.