Electron-Transport Systems Obtained from Vegetative Organisms and Spores of Bacillus megaterium KM

succinate contained increasing amounts of wax as the specific growth rate decreased from 0.7h-I to 0.12h-I. The wax composition also varied with dilution rate, samples having a high wax content had palmitic acid and palmityl alcohol as major components. In continuous culture with succinate limitation and excess of nitrogen, the bacteria contained only small amounts of waxes, which increased slightly with increasing specific growth rate. Acinetobacter calcoaceticus N.C.I.B. 8250 contains simple waxes as do other strains of this group. The wax content of the organism increases markedly in nitrogen-limiting conditions in continuous culture and stationary-phase batch culture. The accumulation of waxes under these conditions and not during carbon-limited growth may indicate that waxes in this organism play a role as storage product.