Isolation and properties of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO.

Four independent ace mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO lacking the activity of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex have been isolated. They resembled ace mutants of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium in requiring acetate as an essential supplement for aerobic growth on glucose, succinate or lactate and in their ability to utilize acetate as sole carbon and energy source. Assays for the individual components of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex indicated that they lacked the pyruvate dehydrogenase component (El) or the pyruvate dehydrogenase and dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase components (E1 and E2) but not the lipoamide dehydrogenase component (E3). Genetic studies with plasmid R68.45-mediated conjugation and phage F116L-mediated transduction indicated that the ace mutations are located at approximately 15 min in the P. aeruginosa PAO linkage map.