Production of 2,3-butylene glycol from citrus wastes. II. The Bacillus polymyxa fermentation

The conditions required for production of levo 2,3-butylene glycol by Bacillus polymyxa from citrus molasses were studied. Starter cultures required acclimatization to the substrate prior to inoculation of the fermentation medium. Maximal production of butylene glycol with minimal residual sugar was obtained with a medium consisting of molasses, diluted to 20 degrees Brix, and 0.4% urea. Optimal environmental conditions included aeration at 0.11 volumes of air per volume of medium per minute, maintenance of pH at 6.0 to 6.2, a fermentation temperature of 30 C, and a stirring rate of 420 rev/min. The concentration of butylene glycol obtained in the fermentation beer ranged from 2.3 to 4.4%. The optical rotation of the glycol ranged from [alpha](D) (23 degrees ) = -1.01 degrees to -10.45 degrees . The variation in rotation was probably due to the presence of contaminating substances in the distillate.

Production of gibberellin-like substances by bacteria and actinomycetes

The production of gibberellin-like substances by bacteria and actinomycetes was investigated. Most of the bacterial cultures tested produced a gibberellic acid-like substance (A3) in amounts varying from 1 to 14 μg/liter. The production of a gibberellin-A9-like compound was much more limited, 6 out of 15 cultures yielding small amounts. Six out of 11 actinomycetes showed evidence of A3 synthesis; two produced A9. Antigibberellin substances co-chromatographing with A3 were detected in culture filtrates of Bacillus polymyxa and two actionmycetes. Cultural conditions and concentration of the ingredients of the medium influenced gibberellin synthesis by Agrobacterium radiobacter. Production of these substances was not growth linked and none was detected in stationary cultures. Microbial synthesis of the gibberellins was demonstrated also by means of assays with the dwarf maize mutants d1, d2, and d5.As added to soil was rapidly inactivated and it was postulated that the plant could derive maximum benefit from microbial synthesis of gibberellins and related substances only at the root surface—the rhizoplane.

REACTIONS OF SPORES AND CELLS OF BACILLUS CEREUS WITH PYRIMIDINE RIBOSIDES

Lawrence , N. L. (University of Alabama, Birmingham) and Yun-Chuan Tsan . Reaction of spores and cells of Bacillus cereus with pyrimidine ribosides. J. Bacteriol. 83: 228–233. 1962.—Cytidine deaminase and uridine ribosidase were essentially inactive in heat-resistant spores of Bacillus cereus T, but the activity increased as the spores germinated and proceeded to the vegetative form. The activity of germinated spores on cytidine was evident only after several hours lag, but then was nearly equal to that of vegetative cells. Cytosine deaminase was absent from all these preparations, but deoxycytidine was deaminated at nearly the same rate as cytidine. In the absence of added phosphate, cytidine was converted to uracil by intact vegetative cells more completely than was uridine.