Growth enhancing effect of exogenous glycine and characterization of its uptake in halotolerant cyanobacterium Aphanothece halophytica.

Alkaliphilic halotolerant cyanobacterium Aphanothece halophytica showed optimal growth in the medium containing 0.5 M NaCl. The increase of exogenously added glycine to the medium up to 10 mM significantly promoted cell growth under both normal (0.5 M NaCl) and salt stress (2.0 M NaCl) conditions. Salt stress imposed by either 2.0 or 3.0 M NaCl retarded cell growth; however, exogenously added glycine at 10 mM concentration to salt-stress medium resulted in the reduction of growth inhibition particularly under 3.0 M NaCl condition. The uptake of glycine by intact A. halophytica was shown to exhibit saturation kinetics with an apparent K s of 160 μM and V max of 3.9 nmol/min/mg protein. The optimal pH for glycine uptake was at pH 8.0. The uptake activity was decreased in the presence of high concentration of NaCl. Both metabolic inhibitors and ionophores decreased glycine uptake in A. halophytica suggesting an energy-dependent glycine uptake. Several neutral amino acids showed considerable inhibition of glycine uptake with higher than 50 % inhibition observed with serine, cysteine and alanine whereas acidic, basic and aromatic amino acids showed only slight inhibition of glycine uptake.