Allosteric regulation of the state of adenylylation of glutamine synthetase in permeabilized cell preparations of Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides.

Following a freeze-thaw cycle, and the treatment of Rhodopseudomonas sphaeroides with the nonionic detergent Lubrol PX, the permeabilized cell suspensions can be assayed directly both for the intracellular levels of glutamine synthetase and the state of adenylylation (i.e. the average number n of adenylylated subunits/dodecameric molecules). It seems that all components of the bicycle system are retained if cells grown with low concentrations of ammonia as the sole nitrogen source are used. The value of n was dependent upon the concentration of substrates (ATP, Pi) and allosteric effectors (ATP, glutamine and alpha-ketoglutarate) of adenylytransferase. The value of n affected by UTP, the specific substrate of the uridylyltransferase shows first the evidence that the bicycle cascade control system studied in Escherichia coli may exist in this phototrophic bacterium.