[Decarboxylase activity of bacteria of the genus Enterobacter depending on the growing conditions]

The activity of decarboxylase in the cells of two bacterial species belonging to the genus Enterobacter was found to depend on the carbon source of the growth medium and on the substrate used to determine the enzyme activity. Cells grown on a medium containing glucose and incubated in solutions of glucose and sodium pyruvate produced 1.4 to 2.1 times more CO2 than cells utilizing glycerol. The highest amount of CO2 was formed on pyruvate, the substrate of the first reaction of decarboxylation.