Some Effects of Heavy Water on the Growth of Serratia Marcescens

Abstract

When Serratia marce8cen8 is grown on solid or liquid media containing heavy in place of light water, pigment production ceases. When the media contain mixtures of heavy and light water, pigment production is inversely proportional to the heavy water concentration. The results of the biochemical tests used in the identification of the organism are the same for the deuterated and normal cells with the exception that acetyl methyl carbinol production cannot be detected. It is suggested that the effects of deuteration on bacteria are of two types, transient ones following the change from one isotopic medium to the other, and permanent ones caused by the "toxicity" of deuterium. This view is compared with that of other authors.