Proline-hyperproducing strains of Serratia marcescens: enhancement of proline analog-mediated growth inhibition by increasing osmotic stress.

Proline-producing strains of Serratia marcescens were more osmotolerant than wild-type strains. Growth inhibition by proline analogs was significantly enhanced by increasing the osmotic stress of the medium. Mutants resistant to azetidine-2-carboxylate were derived from a proline-producing strain, SP126, under a high osmotic condition. One of the mutants, strain SP187, produced 56 mg of L-proline per ml of medium containing sucrose and urea. This amount was ca. 3 times larger than that produced by strain SP126. The intracellular glutamate content which decreased in strain SP126 was restored in strain SP187. The glutamate dehydrogenase level of strain SP187 was 5 times higher than that of strain SP126.