Yield coefficients of Thiobacillus neapolitanus in continuous culture.

Thiobacillus neapolitanus, when grown in continuous culture with thiosulfate limiting growth, possessed an apparent maximal molar growth yield of 8.0 g (dry weight) per mole of thiosulfate. The substrate requirement for energy of maintenance was the highest yet reported, amounting to 21.8 mmoles of thiosulfate per g per hr. The molar growth yield, corrected for this maintenance energy requirement, was 13.9 g (dry weight) per mole of thiosulfate. It was concluded that substrate-level phosphorylation during sulfite oxidation accounted for about 45% of the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) requirement for CO(2) assimilation and maintenance during growth on limiting thiosulfate, that three sites of energy conservation exist in the electron-transport chain terminating in oxygen, and that 7.8 moles of ATP are required to fix and assimilate 1 mole of CO(2) into cell material.