Genetic Basis of Nutritional Requirements In: Lactobacillus Casei
Genetic Basis of Nutritional Requirements In: Lactobacillus Casei
Genetic Basis of Nutritional Requirements In: Lactobacillus Casei
3
Copyright ( 1974 American Society for Microbiology Printed in U.S.A.
One of the striking characteristics of the mutations were found to result in the appear-
genus Lactobacillus is the well-known multiple ance of' a specif'ic enzyme activity responsible
nutritional requirements that these bacteria for the biosynthesis of a specific amino acid.
require for their normal growth. They require a These results indicate that most, if' not all, of
number of amino acids, vitamins, purines, and the genes essential for biosynthesis of these
pyrimidines when grown in synthetic media. It nutrients are present in L. casei, but they do not
has generally been thought that this character- produce active proteins due to one or a few
istic may be the result of' adaptation of these deleterious mutations that occurred in the genes
organisms to the natural environments to which for each biosynthetic pathway.
they have been exposed. Thus, genetic and
biochemical analysis of the mechanisms under- MATERIALS AND METHODS
lying the growth requirements in lactobacilli
should contribute not only to the general prob- Bacterial strains. The wild-type L. casei used as
the parental organism in this study was strain S1 from
lem of nutritional requirements among microor- The Yakult Institute for Microbiological Research,
ganisms found in nature but to ecological or Kyoto, Japan.
evolutionary problems as well. Media. Natural medium consisted of (per liter): 10
Although a number of mechanisms can be g of polypeptone (Wako Drug Co.), 10 g of yeast
contemplated to explain growth requirements extract (Difco), 10 g of sodium acetate, and 20 g of
for a given nutrient, a specific question was D-glucose. Basal (synthetic) medium was a glucose-
asked as to whether these requirements are salts medium supplemented with all the nutrients
brought about by the lack of gene(s) responsible required by the wild-type L. casei, strain S1, for its
for its biosynthesis. Thus we made a systematic maximal growth (Table 1). Solid media contained
attempt to isolate mutants of Lactobacillus 1.5% agar (Hakko Agar Co.). The pH of all media was
casei that had lost the growth requirement for a adjusted to 7.2.
Isolation of mutants. Mutants that had lost a
specific nutrient. As will be shown below, such requirement for a given nutrient were isolated after
mutants could indeed be isolated for a majority mutagenic treatment of cells by N-methyl-N'-
of nutrients required by the parental organism. nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (NG), 2-aminopurine (AP),
Moreover, at least in one case studied, certain or ultraviolet light (UV).
1078
VOL. 120, 1974 NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS IN L. CASEI 1079
TABLE 1. Composition of basal mediuma
Compound Concn (mg/ml) Compound Concn (mg/ml)
D-Glucose .......................... 10 L-Lysine ........................... 0.1
Sodium acetate ............. 30 L-Methionine 0.1
Ammonium chloride ............. 3 L-Phenylalanine 0.1
KH2PO1 ........... .. 2 L-Serine 0.1
K2HPO4.. . . . 2 L-Threonine 1.......
0.1
Tween 80 ................................ 1 L-Tryptophan 0.1
Sodium chloride .......... 0.02 L-Tyrosine 0.1
MgSO4.7H20 .......... 0.2 L-Valine ... 0.1
MnSO4.7H20 .......... 0.04 Riboflavine ... 0.001
FeSO4 7H20 .......... 0.02 Pantothenic acid ... 0.001
a
This medium is based on the synthetic medium routinely used at the Yakult Institute (H. Endo, personal
communication) and contains all the nutrients required by the wild-type L. casei, strain Si, for its maximal
growth. It includes some compounds that are not absolutely required but do exhibit strong stimulatory effects
(see Table 2).
(i) Mutagenesis with NG. Cells of the wild-type tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (Tris)-hydrochlo-
strain grown in natural medium overnight at 37 C ride buffer (pH 7.8). For preparation of crude ex-
were collected, washed in saline, and treated with NG tracts, 5 mM 2-mercaptoethanol and 10% glycerol
(700 ,g/ml) in 0.2 M acetate buffer (pH 5.0) at 37 C were added to the cell suspension, which was then
for 3 h. Cells were collected, washed twice in saline, disrupted in a Raytheon 10-kc sonic oscillator and
and plated onto appropriate selective agar media. In centrifuged at 10,000 x g for 20 min. The resulting
some experiments, NG mutagenesis was performed by supernatant fluids were used as crude extracts.
placing crystals of NG at the center of a petri dish Tryptophan synthetase activity was assayed by the
containing selective agar media seeded with a lawn of standard procedure used for the enzyme of Esche-
washed wild-type cells. richia coli (7). The reaction mixture (0.5 ml) con-
(ii) Mutagenesis with AP. Cells were grown in tained the following (micromoles): Tris-hydrochloride
natural medium containing AP (50 ,g/ml) overnight (pH 7.8), 35; indole, 0.2; D,L-serine, 40; pyridoxal
at 37 C. The cells were harvested, washed twice in phosphate, 0.04; 0.015 ml of saturated NaCl solution;
saline, and plated on selective agar medium directly, and 0.25 ml of cell suspension or crude extract. After
or, in some experiments, after incubation in liquid 30 min of incubation at 37 C, the reaction was stopped
selective medium for 2 days. by adding 0.1 ml of 1 N NaOH to each tube.
(iii) UV irradiation. UV irradiation was carried Disappearance of indole during incubation was esti-
out by exposing a saline suspension of cells to a mated by the colorimetric precedure (7).
Toshiba germicidal lamp (15 watt) for 1 min at a Protein was determined by the method of Lowry et
distance of 60 cm. Irradiated cells were incubated at al. (3), and optical density was measured with a
37 C overnight in natural medium collected, washed, Klett-Summerson colorimeter with a no. 54 filter.
and plated on selective agar media.
All agar plates were incubated at 37 C, and colonies RESULTS
that appeared after 4 to 5 days were purified by single Mutants that lost a specific nutritional
colony isolation on appropriate selective agar plates. requirement. We first determined the nutri-
Presumptive mutants thus obtained were then tested
for their ability to grow in liquid selective media tional requirements of the parental L. casei in
lacking a given nutrient. All liquid cultures were liquid culture (Table 2). Several compounds not
incubated without aeration, and optical densities present in the basal medium were also included
were determined with a Klett-Summerson colorime- to observe their possible stimulatory effects on
ter using a no. 54 filter. growth. It can be seen that this strain required
Assay for tryptophan synthetase. Either cell 12 amino acids and 4 vitamins for normal
suspension or crude extract was used for assay of growth. In addition, several other nutrients,
tryptophan synthetase (EC 4.2.1.20). Cultures were including amino acid, vitamin, purine, and
grown with limiting amounts of L-tryptophan (1 to 2 pyrimidine, were found to stimulate growth of
4g/ml) or indole (2 ,g/ml) in the otherwise standard the organism appreciably under the conditions
basal medium. After standing at 37 C for 3 days, cells
were harvested, washed, and suspended in 0.05 M employed. These results generally confirmed
1080 MORISHITA ET AL. J . B ACTERIOL .
TABLE 2. Nutritional requirements of the wild-type L. caseia
Nutrient omitted Growth Nutrient omitted Growth
Amino acids Vitamins
Alanine + Thiamine +
Arginine - Riboflavine
Aspartic acid - Pyridoxal
Cystine ± Biotin +
Glutamic acid - Pantothenic acid
Glycine + Nicotinic acid
Histidine + Folic acid +
Isoleucine - p-Aminobenzoic acid +
Leucine
Lysine - Purines and pyrimidines
a Cells of the wild-type strain grown in natural medium overnight at 37 C were collected, washed twice in
saline, and inoculated into a series of liquid synthetic media containing all but one of the nutrients listed. These
cultures were incubated at 37 C for 3 days, during which optical density was measured at intervals of 24 h. At
least duplicate tubes were employed for each test. Symbols: +, normal growth; -, partial growth; -, no growth.
those obtained previously by H. Endo (personal TABLE 3. Frequencies of mutations leading to the loss
communication). of a specific growth requirement
Systematic attempts were then made to iso-
late mutants that no longer required a specific Nutrient Spontaneous Induced mutation0
nutrient for growth. Thus, cells of the wild-type omitteda mutation Mutagen Frequencv
L. casei were treated with various mutagens and
plated on appropriate media to select for possi- Aspartic acid <6 x 10-10 NG 10-5
ble mutants. Such mutants were successfully Leucine <5 x 10- 10 NG 10-6
isolated with respect to seven of twelve amino Isoleucine <5 x 10 '10 AP 10-8
acids, and three of four vitamins required by the UV 10-8
Lysine <6 x 10-10 NG 10-7
parental strain (Table 3). These mutants were Methionine <6 x 10- 10 AP 10-7
obtained only after treatment by mutagens; no Serine <6 x 10 10 NG 10-5
mutants have so far been obtained spontane- Tyrosine <5 x 10-10 NG 10-7
ously. The frequencies of mutants shown in Pantothenic acid <7 x 10-10 NG 10-7
Table 3, however, should be considered only as Nicotinic acid <7 x 10- 10 AP 10-7
approximations, in view of the procedures em- Pyridoxal <7 x 10-10 NG 10-8
ployed for selecting these mutants.
A number of mutants obtained from each aEach of these nutrients was omitted from the
selection were purified by single colony isola- basal medium used for selection of the mutants.
hMutagenesis was carried out as described in
tion, and their nutritional properties were con- Materials and Methods. Frequency of mutants shown
firmed by streaking tests on agar media with gives an approximate order of magnitude estimated
appropriate supplements. The rate of growth of from several experiments.
these mutants on selective agar varied widely
among different mutants, and some of the
faster-growing mutants were further examined changed, however, indicating that the effect of
in liquid media. Typical-growth curves obtained such mutations is strictly limited to a specific
for some of the mutants in the corresponding biosynthetic pathway. It was also found that the
selective medium are shown in Fig. 1. It can be maximal growth of these mutants attained in
seen that each of the mutants tested grew in the natural medium was generally somewhat re-
medium lacking one of the amino acids required duced as compared to that of the wild-type
by the parental organism. Other nutritional strain.
characters of these mutants remained un- Mutants similar to those described here have
VOL. 120, 1974 NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS IN L. CASEI 1081
that can grow on certain precursors of a nutrient
that cannot be utilized by the parental orga-
nism. The tryptophan biosynthetic pathway
was chosen to investigate this possibility.
It was first shown that the tryptophan re-
quirement of the wild-type L. casei was not
(I)
satisfied by anthranilate or indole, possible
z/
intermediates on the biosynthetic pathway. Ex-
periments were then carried out to find possible
10 1 mutants that can grow on indole or anthranilate
as well as on tryptophan in otherwise standard
uLJ basal medium. Wild-type cells grown in the
C D presence of 2-aminopurine were harvested and
conversion of indole (or indole glycerol phos- therefore, that the lack of enzyme activity in the
phate) to tryptophan (Fig. 2). wild-type extract is due to the presence of an
Tryptophan synthetase activity in an- enzyme inhibitor. Nor does it seem likely that
thranilate-utilizing mutants. To find out the appearance of enzyme activity in the mu-
whether the utilization of anthranilate or indole tant is due to the production of an enzyme
by these mutants was due to an increased activator. It may tentatively be concluded that
activity of tryptophan synthetase or to other these mutations affected one of the genes deter-
factors such as increased permeability to these mining the structure or amount of tryptophan
compounds, tryptophan synthetase activity was synthetase.
assayed in the mutant and in the wild-type Attempts to isolate tryptophan-independent
strains. Cultures were grown in basal medium mutants starting from the anthranilate-utiliz-
with limiting concentrations of L-tryptophan or ing mutants obtained above have so far failed,
indole, and washed cell suspensions were used despite many efforts that were made, employing