Amino acid and peptide requirement of Fusiformis necrophorus

Uptake of individual amino acids and peptides by Fusiformis necrophorus was studied in growing cultures and resting cell suspensions. The cells were able to incorporate 16 of 17 (14)C-labeled amino acids into cell protein, the exception being proline. Proline could neither be formed by the cells from any of the other tested amino acids nor be synthesized from glucose or serine when these were used as energy sources. The addition of di- and tripeptides, the octapeptides vasopressin and oxytocin, and the poly (24) peptide ACTH did not stimulate cell growth, but a marked stimulatory effect was noted after the addition of poly-l-proline (mean molecular weight 2,000). It is concluded that cells of F. necrophorus (i) possess transport systems for most amino acids but not for proline, (ii) are dependent on exogenous proline in the form of proline-containing peptides for growth, and (iii) may be cultivated in a defined amino acid medium provided the proline requirement is met by the addition of a proline-containing peptide.