The role of barbituric acid in the nutrition of Bacillus popilliae

Abstract

Barbituric acid is required at a level of 0.1% for maximum growth of Bacillus popilliae in a synthetic medium. However, only a trace amount of that added (~2%) disappeared from the medium during growth. A general distribution of the 14C from 2-14C-barbituric acid among cell components was observed, but a small amount of the radioactivity from this isotope was consistently associated with both ribonucleic acid (RNA) and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). The 14C found in RNA was uniformly distributed throughout the 4 S, 16 S, and 23 S RNA fractions, and control experiments indicated that the association of 14C from 2-14C-barbituric acid with the nucleic acids may occur by nonspecific absorption. The presence of barbituric acid resulted in very significant stimulation of both nucleic acid and protein synthesis. The mechanism of this stimulation is unresolved.

Degradation of purines and pyrimidines by microorganisms.

“…Barbiturate is required for constant growth in a synthetic medium, and this requirement was not replaced by the common pyrimidines and purines. It stimulates the synthesis of both nucleic acid and protein (117,491).…”