[Determination of the limits of the physiological action of mineral elements in hydrogen bacteria]

The growth of the hydrogen bacterium Hydrogenomonas eutropha Z-1 was studied in the conditions of continuous cultivation at different content of mineral elements in the medium. The physiological action of phosphorus, sulfur, potassium and magnesium in the bacterium was found to be displayed within a wide range of concentrations (mg/ml): P, 18-1400; S, 5.5-350; K, 4-550; Mg, 4.8-430. If the control of mineral elements was above or below these values, the specific growth rate of the cells decreased and their intracellular chemical composition changed.