The respiration of carbohydrate-starved cells of Zygorhyncus moelleri showed a lag period of 2 to 3 hours when glucose was added before the rate of oxygen consumption became constant. Analysis of the rates of oxygen uptake from the time of addition of the sugar until they became constant showed that the lag period could not be ascribed entirely to a low concentration of free glucose in the cells in the period immediately following the addition of glucose to the medium. The analysis was, however, consistent with the supposition that the synthesis of an intermediary metabolite on the glucose oxidation pathway was necessary before the oxidation could proceed with a maximum speed. The length of the lag period could be reduced by adding extracts of cells together with glucose; extracts of unstarved cells were more effective than those of starved cells in shortening the lag period. Various known substances were also effective in this respect, acetate and ethanol being the most active. These results are discussed together with earlier work on the lag period.
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V. Moses (1955) studied this question.