[Metal content in Bacillus megaterium cells under different cultivation conditions]

The content of K, Na, Mg, Fe, Al, Ba, Sr and Cu was studied in the cells of a chemostal culture of Bacillus megaterium whose growth was limited with citrate, the growth rates being D=mu=0.2, 0.4 and 0.7 hr(-1). The growth was affected also by acid and alkaline values of pH. The content of metals in the cells could change tenfold, depending on their physiological state. The content of Ca, Mg and Fe increased with the growth rate while that of K remained constant. The content of metals changed even more sharply, depending on pH. In the alkaline medium, the content of K, Na, Mg, Ca and Fe decreased, in contrast to that of Al, Ba, Sr and Cu, probably as a result of damaged transport.