[Concentration of polyvalent metals following a change in the metabolism of Chromatium vinosum].

The composition of polyvalent metals (Fe, Mn, Cu, Ti, Ni, Co, V, Cr) was compared during photoheterotrophous and autotrophous growth of Chromatium vinosum. A comparatively high content of Mn and Cr, i. e. metals whose amount increases in the course of evolution of photoautotrophous organisms, is typical of the bacterium after autotrophous growth. An increase in the concentration of Ti, i. e. a metal involved in the reduction reactions of the cells, is characteristic of photoheterotrophous growth. As metabolism changes, differences are found in the content of protein, lipophilic substances, thioesters, flavin, and in the hydrogenase activity. These differences are discussed with respect to the role of polyvalent metals in metabolism of Chromatium vinosum.