Direct measurement of poly(beta-hydroxybutyrate) in a pseudomonad by solid-state 13C NMR

Four narrow lines are observed in the high-resolution cross-polarization magic-angle spinning 13C NMR spectra of intact, lyophilized samples of Pseudomonas sp. LBr, in addition to the broader lines normally associated with bacterial cellular material. These narrow lines arise from poly(beta-hydroxybutyrate). The cellular carbon contained in this storage material can be measured quantitatively and nondestructively from the solid-state NMR spectra. We find that cells starved for phosphorus store up to 50% of their total carbon as poly(beta-hydroxybutyrate). When such cells are used to inoculate medium containing a source of phosphorus, all of the poly(beta-hydroxybutyrate) is metabolized by the time the culture has reached midlogarithmic growth phase.