Enhanced secretion of glucosyltransferase by changes in potassium ion concentrations is accompanied by an altered pattern of membrane fatty acids in Streptococcus salivarius.

Growth of Streptococcus salivarius ATCC 25975 in a Na+-based medium containing 1 to 50 mM K+ enhanced extracellular glucosyltransferase production by 3.7-fold over the level of enzyme found in a K+-based medium containing 184 mM K+. Enzyme synthesis and secretion were further enhanced in a nonlinear manner with respect to the concentration of K+ in the medium when cells were cultured from an inoculum grown in the presence of 1 mM K+. This concentration of K+ was the minimum required to maintain a near-maximum growth rate for S. salivarius in medium where K+ was limited. A maximum sevenfold stimulation of glucosyltransferase production occurred at 18 mM K+ under these conditions. Analysis of the total membrane lipids showed that the composition of octadecanoic acid increased with decreasing K+ concentration essentially at the expense of the octadecenoic acid moiety. Extracellular glucosyltransferase production was found to be directly related to the ratio of these two fatty acids. Similar confirmatory results over a greater range of enzyme production were obtained with nonproliferating cell suspensions.