ABSTRACT
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 231 Methodology .................................................................................................................................. 232
Pigments ............................................................................................................................. 233 Temperature Relationships ................................................................................................. 233 Growth Requirements: Utilization of Carbon Compounds ................................................ 233 Nitrate Reduction and Denitrication ................................................................................ 233 Extracellular Polysaccharides .............................................................................................234 Oxidase Reaction and Cytochrome Composition ...............................................................234 Production of Hydrolytic Enzymes ....................................................................................234 Arginine Dihydrolase Reaction ..........................................................................................234 Production of Acids from Sugars and Sugar Alcohols .......................................................234 Ring Fission Mechanisms ...................................................................................................234 Nutritional Properties ......................................................................................................... 236 In Vitro Nucleic Acid Hybridization ................................................................................... 236 The Pseudomonas fluorescens RNA Homology Group ..................................................... 237
References ...................................................................................................................................... 241
Members of the genus Pseudomonas are very common in nature and can be isolated from a large variety of natural materials. A number of strains are notorious for their nutritional versatility toward organic compounds of low molecular weight in media totally devoid of organic growth factors; this capacity, combined with a fast growth rate, allows them to predominate in the microora growing in natural media that have a reaction close to neutrality and some organic matter in solution.2, 12, 21, 29
The basic morphological features common to almost all species are the straight rod shape and the presence of one or several polar agella. No spores are produced, and the Gram reaction is negative. These morphological attributes dene the “pseudomonads” but admission to the genus Pseudomonas requires some additional physiological properties, such as an energy metabolism purely respiratory and nutrition of the chemoorganotrophic type. These properties, together with the widespread occurrence, determine the great importance of these organisms as participants in the carbon cycle in nature2 and, therefore, in their inclusion in bioremediation projects.
