Carbon-Phosphorus Hydrolase: Some Properties of the Enzyme in Cell Extracts of Enterobacter aerogenes

Abstract

Cells of Enterobacter aerogenes IFO 12010 could grow on a medium containing alkylphosphonic acids as sole sources of phosphorus. The formation of the enzyme responsible for the liberation of inorganic phosphate (Pi) from alkylphosphonic acids was induced when Pi-grown cells were transferred to a medium containing no added Pi. The extracts prepared from cells after incubation in the absence of Pi showed high carbon-phosphorus (C-P) bond cleavage activity and catalyzed the liberation of Pi from alkylphosphonic acids most efficiently in the alkaline pH region. We named the enzyme C-P hydrolase, tentatively.