Two ornithine carbamoyltransferases (OCT 1 and OCT 2) were isolated from Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola and purified by precipitation with ammonium sulfate, heat denaturation, chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A-50 and Sephadex G-200. Molecular weights of both enzymes: 110,000; optimal activity: pH 8.5 to 9.5 (OCT 1), pH 8.4 (OCT 2); apparent Km for ornithine: 7 X 10(-4) (both enzymes); apparent Km for carbamoyl-phosphate: 7 X 10(-4) (OCT 1), 2.8 X 10(-3) (OCT 2). Both enzymes possess only an anabolic function. OCT 1 is highly inhibited by low concentrations of phaseolotoxin and Orn-P(O)(NH2)-NH-SO3H, OCT 2 is insensitive to both compounds. The inhibition of OCT 1 is reversible.

The phaseolotoxin-producing Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola strain 1321 contains two ornithine carbamoyltransferases which differ in resistance to phaseolotoxin. Whereas ornithine carbamoyltransferase 1 (OCT 1) is inhibited at low concentrations of phaseolotoxin, ornithine carbamoyltransferase 2 (OCT 2) is insensitive to phaseolotoxin. The activity of the insensitive enzyme is correlated with the amount of toxin formed.

A survey is given of possible solutions and open-ended questions in the biotransformation of steroids (without side chain degradation of sterols) by using immobilized cells. The data of literature between 1975 and 1990 and results of preliminary experiments from the microbial, biochemical, biophysical, physiological, as well as the biotechnological point of view are summarized and discussed.

Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola, a plant pathogenic pseudomonad, possesses two sucrose-splitting enzymes, a levansucrase and a sucrase. The levansucrase is found both extracellularly and intracellularly, and enzyme synthesis is independent of the carbon source. In addition to levansucrase, cells grown on sucrose contain a sucrase. The two sucrose-splitting enzymes differ in their optimum pH value and optimum temperature as well as in their substrate specificities.

Independently of their capacity to produce phytotoxins, strains of Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola contain two ornithine carbamoyltransferases (OCT, EC 2.1.3.3) which differ in resistance to phaseolotoxin and Orn-P(O) (NH2)-NH-SO3 H (PNSOrn). At 18 degrees C, the optimal temperature for product formation, the balance of the two types of OCT was shifted in favour of the insensitive type in phaseolotoxin producing strains, and in favour of the sensitive one in strains with little or no toxin production. The results suggest a causal relationship between the existence of an insensitive enzyme and the synthesis of toxins.