Glycerol dissimilation in Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides

Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides followed a diauxic growth curve when grown on a malate-glycerol medium, the first phase of growth being supported by malate and the second by glycerol. A soluble glycerokinase and a particulate, pyridine nucleotide-independent glycerophosphate dehydrogenase, were induced by the presence of glycerol in the medium, but neither was fully expressed nor functional until all malate had been consumed.