Effect of Hemin on the Formation of the Cytochrome System of Anaerobically Grown Staphylococcus epidermidis

Jacobs , N. J. (Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, N.H.), and S. F. Conti . Effect of hemin on the formation of the cytochrome system of anaerobically grown Staphylococcus epidermidis . J. Bacteriol. 89: 675–679. 1965.—The cytochrome content and respiratory capacity of cells of a strain of Staphylococcus epidermidis grown in complex media under aerobic and anaerobic conditions were determined. Difference spectra revealed cytochromes of the a, b 1 , and o types in aerobically grown cells. These cells respired at a rate of 66 μliters of O 2 per hr per mg of cells (dry weight). The cytochrome content of anaerobically grown cells was markedly reduced, and trace amounts only of cytochromes of the b 1 and o type were visible. The respiratory rate, with glucose as substrate, was reduced to about one-tenth of that observed in aerobically grown cells. Cells grown anaerobically in medium supplemented with hemin had as high a content of pigments resembling cytochromes b 1 and o as did aerobically grown cells; the respiratory rate was 60% of that observed in aerobically grown cells. Cytochrome of the a type, similar to that found in aerobically grown cells, was not detected.