54 H. O. HALVORSON 



TABLE VIII 



EFFECT OF SOME ACIDS ON THE INHIBITION OF SPORULATION 

 BY SODIUM BISULFITE (4 lO'^M) 



Addition of sodium bisulfite with Sporulation 



malate. The reversal by glyoxylic acid and ketoglutarate is to be 

 expected, since the aldehyde and ketone groups would tie up the 

 bisulfite and thus remove it from the sphere of action. The fact 

 that malate does not reverse the inhibition of the bisulfite may 

 indicate that bisulfite is also tying up the oxalacetate and thus 

 breaking the cycle at that point. 



The glyoxylic acid shunt may be needed for sporulation, but 

 as yet, we do not have convincing proof. At the present time we 

 are pursuing this investigation further with radioactive tracers, 

 and hope, by this technique, to get conclusive proof or denial. 

 Regardless of the cycle involved, all of the inhibitors we have 

 studied are reversed by succinate; and succinate has proved to 

 be the most effective reversing agent because it will reverse 

 these inhibitors in smaller concentrations than any of the 

 others. This leads us to suspect that succinic acid is an inter- 

 mediate in the synthesis of spore material, and also perhaps, in 

 the synthesis of DPA. There is some evidence against this 



