Effect of external pH perturbations on in vivo protein synthesis by the acidophilic bacterium Thiobacillus ferrooxidans.

The response of the obligate acidophilic bacterium Thiobacillus ferrooxidans to external pH changes is reported. When T. ferrooxidans cells grown at pH 1.5 were shifted to pH 3.5, there were several changes in the general protein synthesis pattern, including a large stimulation of the synthesis of a 36-kDa protein (p36). The apparent low isoelectric point of p36, its location in the membrane fraction, and its cross-reaction with anti-OmpC from Salmonella typhi suggested that it may be a porin whose expression is regulated by extracellular pH.