Five strains of A. tenuissima showed wide variation in ability to produce extracellular proteases and the amount of protease produced by a given strain varied greatly with the medium used. Strain E-34 produced at least three proteases, with pH optima for casein digestion of pH 2.8, 6.6 and 9.5 respectively. The effect of the constituents of a liver-glucose medium on production of pH 9.5 protease by strain E-34 was investigated. Yields of pH 9.5 protease of up to 1.4 enzyme units per I have been obtained using this strain.

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Some biological substances and physiologically active substances such as amino acids, hormones, vitamins, medicines and the other substances were added into the linoleic acid solution; and antioxidative and prooxidative abilities of these substances, the abilities to act as electron donors or acceptors, were tested. Many substances were effective as the antioxidant and some others showed prooxidative effects. These facts suggested the pos-sibility of the occurrence of many reactions involving the transfer of an electron among biological processes

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Hydrocarbon-assimilating yeasts and bacteria were isolated from soil and sewage. The optimal conditions of cell yield from liquid paraffine by a Torulopsis yeast and a Pseudomonas strain were studied. A Torulopsis yeast gave, in optimal condition, 70 percent cell yield on u weight conversion basis from light oil fraction. In a strain of Pseudomonas the additions of amino acids, Fe⁺⁺, Mg⁺⁺ and Ca⁺⁺ ions were effective for cell production. This strain showed, in optimal condition, 80 percent cell yield (wt%) from kerosene.

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The starfish saponin previously reported by the present authors as the toxic principle of Asterias amurensis LUTKEN was found to be separable into six components. The main component was designated asterosaponin A. It shows an ultraviolet absorption at 244mμ indicative of a heteroannular diene. The infrared spectrum shows a band at 1640cm^-1. Acid hydrolysis of asterosaponin A yields an aglycone, one molecule of sulfuric acid, and each two molecules of D-quinovose and D-fucose. In addtion to the above sugars, D-galactose and D-xylose were isolated from the hydrolyzates of the crude saponin mixture.

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The blood cells of vitamin E deficient rats are hemolyzed by dialuric acid. The percent of hemolysis in the dialuric acid test was higher in rats fed a 5% casein diet than in pair-fed animals receiving 10 or 20% casein diet when a suboptimal amount of α-tocopherol (7_??_32μg per day) was administered. With 1mg per day of α-toco-pherol there was no hemolysis at any protein level. The significance of the results is discussed.

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The relation between oleate and biotin to the extracellular accumulation of L-GA in M. ammoniaphilum was studied, and the follow-ing results were obtained and discussed.
1. M. ammoniaphilum was cultured in glucose medium at various biotin levels, and the cellular fatty acids were analyzed by gas chromatography.
From the results of this experiment, the following possible diagram was proposed;
Amount of Biotin Added → Amounts of Clg¹⁼₁₈
and/or C₁₆→Amounts of Cells Formed… (l) In this diagram, [A→B] means [A was the limiting factor of B formation].
2. Through the addition of various fatty acids to the fermentation medium, the second
step of the diagram (l) was proved to hold good, independently of the first step of the diagram (l) as follows,
Amount of C¹⁼₈ →Amount of cells formed. In connection with this, the biotin-sparing effect of oleate was proven to be negligible by transferring the bacteria into oleate medium, and also shown that oleate could substitute for biotin and cystine which were indispens-able for the growth of the bacteria.
3. M. ammoniaphilum was also cultured in glucose-oleate medium, and the cellular fatty acids were analyzed.
From the results of this experiment, it was recognized that a large amount of L-GA was accumulated, while the ratio of Sat./Unsat. F. A. was far below 1.
4. 0.05% Na-oleate was added supplement-arily to the molasses-POEFE medium and glucose-oleate medium at 12hr. of culture, and it was found that the extracellular ac-cumulation of L-GA practically stopped in either medium after the addition.
It was suggested from this fact that the same permeability mechanism for L-GA was work-ing in both cases.
5. The cellular permeability was investi-gated with the cells acquired in the preceding experiments, and it was recognized that the better the cellular permeability of L-GA, the larger the amount of L-GA accumulated.

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1) The catalytic isomerization and racemi-zation of menthol isomers by means of copper chromite and Raney nickel catalyst were investigated.
2) Although Raney nickel catalyst was excellent in the racemization ability, copper chromite had be better used as the isomeri-zation catalyst.
3) In the case of catalytic isomerization and racemization the ketones, especially men-thone and isomenthone, showed considerable inhibitory action.
4) The equilibrium concentration in the catalytic isomerization corresponded to 52_??_53% menthol, 30_??_31% neomenthol, 12_??_13% isomenthol and 4_??_5% neoisomenthol at 200°C.
5) The isomerization of menthols by means of sodium mentholates was also studied. It was shown that the equilibrium menthol mixture was composed of 74_??_75% menthol, 8_??_9% neomenthol, 16_??_17% isomenthol and trace of neoisomenthol without any racemiza-tion.
6) From these data a free energy difference between equatorial and axial hydroxyl (or methyl) in menthols is calculated to be 0.5_??_0.6 Kcal./mole for hydroxyl and 1.4_??_1.5 Kcal./mole for methyl at 200°C.

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From a red alga, Gymnogongrus flabelliformis, a new guanidino compound of an empirical formula, C₆H₁₂O₃N₄, was isolated. The decomposition products identified were carbon dioxide, guanidine and γ-aminobutyric acid on hydrolysis at 120°C, succinic acid and guanylurea on oxidation with potassium permanganate, and γ-aminobutyric and γ-ureidobutyric acids on hydrolysis with barium hydroxide, respectively. These results led the authors to postulate that the substance is l-amidino-3-(3-carboxypropyl)urea or γ-(guanylureido)butyric acid.

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Relation between the elastolytic and depilatory activities was examined using various highly purified proteinase preparations. Elastolytic activity of the enzymes did not cor-relates well with their depilatory action. Among 11 proteinase preparations tested, Pseudomonas aeruginosa elastase showed the highest depilatory activity.

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The increment in peroxidase activity in response to cutting of sweet potato roots was inhibited by some inhibitors concerned in protein synthesis, RNA synthesis, and oxidative phosphorylation. The starch-gel electrophoretogram of the peroxidases from the tissue treated with the inhibitors was investigated with densitometer and compared with the corresponding electrophoretogram of the sliced tissue without the treatment. There was no prominent difference in the patterns between them, although activity of all peroxidase components detected on starch gel was weaker in the case of treated tissue. Cellular distribution of the peroxidases was studied on various fractions obtained by differential centrifugation. The activity was largely concentrated in the supernatant fraction, but it was also found in both mitochondrial and microsomal fractions, though in less amounts.

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Three strains of soil Streptomyces which belong to Streptomyces cacaoi were found to produce a new antifungal antibiotic complex, polyoxin complex. Polyoxin A and B were isolated in pure forms out of it. They are amphoteric compounds with the molecular formulas, C₂₃H₃₂N₆O₁₄ and C₁₇H₂₅N₅O₁₃ respectively. They showed very specific activities against phytopathogenic fungi.

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Aliphatic carbonyl compounds in soybean were studied. Volatile carbonyl compounds in defatted soybean flour were identified as methanal, ethanal, n-hexanal, 2-propanone, 2-pentanone, 2-heptanone, 2-heptenal, and 2, 4-decadienal, while those in raw soybean as ethanal, n-hexanal, and 2-propanone. Four kinds of non-volatile carbonyl compounds were found in defatted soybean, two of which seemed to be carbonyl ester and carbonylic acid. It is probable that the compounds in defatted soybean are mostly the secondary products derived from autoxidation of the residual fatty acids and esters in the defatting process and/or during the storage thereafter. n-Hexanal in raw soybean amounts to approximately 10 p.p.m., which is, owing to its extremely low flavoring threshold, likely to be one of the main components of the green bean flavor.

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With the crystalline preparations of amine oxidase of Aspergillus niger, some properties of the enzyme were investigated. The enzyme was stable in phosphate buffer of pH over the range of 6.0 to 7.0. On heating, the enzyme was stable up to 35°C, but, above 40°C, it was rapidly destroyed.
The recrystallized enzyme was at least 90% pure when examined in the ultracentri-fuge. The molecular weight was determined to be approximately 252, 000. The enzyme was pink in color and shown an absorption maximum at about 480mμ. This absorption maximum was abolished by substrates as well as by sodium dithionite, and was restored by oxygenation.
The enzyme oxidized preferentially aliphatic monoamines of C₃-C₆. The other mono-amines, such as benzylamine, phenethylamine, histamine and agmatine, were oxidized as well. The aliphatic diamines of C₄-C₆ were oxidized but in rather low rates. The rates of oxidation showed optima at pH 7.5, 7.2, 7.8 and 8.6 for n-butylamine, benzylamine, histamine and putrescine, respectively.

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Unique crystalline structures were found by X-ray diffractometry to be present in spore coats of Bacillus subtilis. By crystallographical and chemical studies of the purified spore coats it was found that these crystalline structures of the spore coats were essentially similar to those of α- and β-keratin, and that the spore coats were composed of keratin-like substance (or keratin). This keratin-like substance was found to be synthesized during sporogenesis from sulfur-containing water-soluble substances in the cells.

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