Effect of parathion on growth, polysaccharides, lipids and proteins of Rhizobium meliloti.

Rhizobium meliloti 300hl3 reached the stationary phase of growth very quickly and had an early death when 8.6 muM parathion was added to the growth medium at the start of the culture. Cells also changed their quantitative composition: total carbohydrate content and poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate accumulation diminished, proteins and phospholipids of cellular membranes increased, and some alterations in the proportion of membrane fatty acids were noticed.