Butyramide-utilizing Mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa 8602 which Produce an Amidase with Altered Substrate Specificity

SUMMARY: Mutants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa 8602 were isolated which, unlike the wild type, were able to grow with butyramide as a carbon source. Six mutants derived from the constitutive strain c 11 were shown to produce an enzyme (B amidase) with altered electrophoretic mobility and altered substrate specificity. The apparent Km for butyramide of the B amidase was about a tenth of that of the A amidase and the Vmax was about ten-fold greater. A further mutation produced mutants able to grow on valeramide.