The Dissimilation of Amino Acids by Rhodospirillum rubrum

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Abstract
The mechanism of amino acid metabolism by washed suspensions of this organism was investigated. Cells grown under anaerobic conditions in the light, and incubated in the light under argon, metabolize many of the 15 amino acids tested, with the production of NH3 and CO2. The highly oxidized and short-chain amino acids are most rapidly metabolized. 80% of the C and 55-70% of the metabolized glutamic acid are assimilated by the organism. Suspensions from organisms grown aerobically in the dark have a high rate of endogenous respiration, and studies of amino acid metabolism are therefore complicated. However, it was shown that glutamic acid, aspartic acid and alanine are oxidized completely by the organism.