Some effects of visible light on Escherichia coli.

Light above 400 nm had selective effects on Escherichia coli ML-308: several processes or enzymes were strongly inhibited, whereas others were relatively unaffected. There was a correlation between the inhibition of respiration and the inhibition of active uptake of glycine. However, phenylalanine uptake did not show such a correlation. The decrease in adenosine 5'-triphosphate level during the first few minutes of illumination resembled the inactivation kinetics of phenylalanine uptake. The results suggest that phenylalanine uptake may not depend greatly on oxidative energy and may depend on the adenosine 5'-triphosphate level. The results for glycine suggest either that its active uptake and respiration involve a common photosensitive component or alternately, that only the respiratory chain contains the photosensitive component, and that glycine uptake is coupled almost exclusively to respiration. The critical photochemical lesion does not involve d-lactate dehydrogenase, succinate dehydrogenase, or l-alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase since their inactivation rate is markedly lower than that for respiration.