ACTION OF HAEMOPHILUS CULTURES ON δ-AMINOLEVULINIC ACID

Abstract

Biberstein, Ernst L. (University of California, Davis), Patricia D. Mini, and Marjorie G. Gills. Action of Haemophilus cultures on δ-aminolevulinic acid. J. Bacteriol. 86:814–819. 1963.—Utilization of δ-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) by strains of Haemophilus recovered from various sources was investigated. With the 37 cultures studied, there was perfect correlation between absence of hemin requirement and ability to convert ALA to porphyrin. A total of 29 strains, including representatives of H. parainfluenzae, H. parahaemolyticus, H. “parasuis,” and H. gallinarum, fell into this group. The remaining eight isolates, which were incapable of porphyrin synthesis from ALA, were strains of H. influenzae, H. suis, and a Haemophilus culture of uncertain classification obtained from a splenic abscess in a deer. In the active preparations, the products of synthesis included a mixture of porphyrins, porphobilinogen (PBG), and a pigment which absorbed light strongly at 470 to 480 mμ. Paper chromatographic studies of fractions of supernatants and cells revealed the presence of porphyrins having R_F values similar to those of uro- and protoporphyrins, as well as some intermediate rates of migration probably representing coproporphyrins. Porphyrins were found both intra- and extracellularly, and PBG and the pigment absorbing at 470 to 480 mμ were confined to the supernatant.