Parameters of unbalanced growth and reversible inhibition of deoxyribnucleic acid synthesis in Brevibacterium ammoniagenes ATCC 6872 induced by depletion of Mn2+. Inhibitor studies on the reversibility of deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis.

Unbalanced growth induced by depletion of manganese ions was a prerequisite for production of ribonucleotides in a high salt mineral medium with the wildtype strain Brevibacterium ammoniagenes ATCC 6872. The concentration of manganese strictly controlled the overall deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis, whereas ribonucleic acid (RNA), protein and cell wall synthesis remained essentially unimpaired in the manganese-lacking cells. The reversibility of inhibition of overall DNA synthesis was shown by enhanced incorporation (up to threefold compared to the cultures supplied with sufficient manganese) of [8-14C] adenine into alkali-stable, trichloroacetic acid-insoluble material after subsequent addition of 10 microM MnCl2 to 15 h-old depleted cultures. The results of inhibitor studies on the restoration of overall DNA synthesis due to subsequent addition of manganese ions to depleted cultures suggest that ribonucleotide reduction is the primary target of the manganese starvation during nucleotide fermentation with Brevibacterium ammoniagenes ATCC 6872.