Abstract
The main property of an Amt- (ammonium transport negative) mutant of Klebsiella pneumoniae is its inability to accumulate NH +4 intracellularly. When growing on nitrogen sources other than NH +4 , the mutant constantly looses NH3 by diffusion. This loss results in poor growth. The NH3 excretion suggests the existence of a futile cycle (NH3 loss/NH +4 reabsorption) in the wild type and possibly other bacterial strains, which do not constantly excrete NH3.
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Dedicated to Prof. R. H. Burris
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Castorph, H., Kleiner, D. Some properties of a Klebsiella pneumoniae ammonium transport negative mutant (Amt−). Arch. Microbiol. 139, 245–247 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00402008
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00402008