effect of detergents on amino acid liberation by the N2-fixing cyanobacterium Anabaena variabilis and 6-fluorotryptophan-resistant mutant strains

AFRC Research Group on Cyanobacteria and The Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN, UK ABSTRACT SUMMARY: The effects of the polyoxyethylene stearate detergents MYRJ 45 and MYRJ 52 on FT-9, an amino-acid-liberating mutant strain of Anabaena variabilis , and on the parent strain were investigated. Both strains were capable of growth in the presence of these detergents, which induced the liberation of amino acids by the parent strain and increased the liberation of amino acids by the mutant strain. Some changes in the spectrum of amino acids liberated by the mutant strain were observed in the presence of detergents, notably the liberation of tryptophan, which was not detected in the absence of detergents. Present address: Wolfson Institute of Biotechnology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.