[Chemotactic reactions of a paraffin-oxidizing strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa].

The reactions of chemotaxis were studied in a paraffin-oxidizing Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain using the method of migration in viscous media. Diesel fuel and paraffin become attractants only if they are contaminated with hydrocarbon-oxidizing mycobacteria. A suspension of mycobacterial cells as well as their lipids (peptidoglycolipids, wax, triglycerides, methyl esters of mycolic acids) are attractants, too. A mycobacterial biomass containing no lipids does not cause chemotaxis of P. aeruginosa cells.