Effects of fatty acid substitution on the release of enzymes by osmotic shock.

The release of enzymes by osmotic shock from Escherichia coli strain 30E, an unsaturated fatty acid auxotroph, was examined in culture supplemented with either cis- or trans-unsaturated fatty acids. Cultures grown in oleate-supplemented medium release a large fraction of the total cyclic phosphodiesterase, acid hexose phosphatase, and 5'-nucleotidase following osmotic shock. Cultures grown in elaidate-supplemented medium release much less of these same enzymes after shock treatment. Cultures grown with either supplementation show total release of these enzymes upon conversion to spheroplasts, demonstrating that the enzymes are in the periplasmic space in both cases. Cultures grown with either oleate or elaidate as fatty acid source were washed and suspended in medium containing the other isomer. The change from oleate to elaidate resulted in a rapid decrease in ability of the cells to release the three enzymes after osmotic shock so that within a 25% increase in cell mass the culture responded to osmotic shock as would a culture grown overnight in elaidate-supplemented medium. The reverse experiment resulted in a gradual increase in the ability of the cells to respond to osmotic shock. The outer membrane of E. coli is altered by the incorporation of elaidate, as indicated by electron microscopic data.