[Alkane-induced protein biosynthesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa]

Protein disc-electrophoregrams of cell-free homogenates have been compared in the "non-adapted" and "preliminarily-adapted" to n-hexane strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. A statistically reliable increase in the content of protein by 60 per cent was found in fractions a (M. W. 70,000) and b (M. W. 130,000) when the cells of both strains were gorwn on hexane as compared to the cells cultivated on glucose. The content of protein in each a and b band was about 4 per cent of the total cell protein before the induction by hexane. No differences were found when the cells of the two strains were grown on identical substrates. The induced proteins are supposed to belong to the system of primary oxidation of n-alkanes with short chains and to be localized in the cytoplasm of Ps. aeruginosa.