Requirements of glucose and incubation under static conditions for optimal colicin E1 induction.

A rapid rate and large amounts of colicin E1 synthesis were induced by incubating colicinogenic cells without aeration in the presence of glucose. The decrease in ability of colicin induction by aeration was not due to an ample supply of oxygen, but to the simple agitation of the bacterial suspension. Sugars other than glucose that support colicin synthesis were mannose, fructose, glucose-6-phosphate, and mannitol. The effect of sugars in mutants deficient in enzymes of glucose metabolism suggested that some intermediary metabolites between glucose and pyruvate are closely related to the stimulation of colicin synthesis under these conditions. Analyses of deoxyribonucleic acid replication indicated that the induced replication of the colicin E1 plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid occurred even under conditions in which colicin was not actively synthesized.