Fermentative Production of L-Arginine

Abstract

Most of the bacteria, which were examined for the sensitivity to L-arginine analogs (L-canavanine, L-homoarginine, D-arginine and arginine hydroxamate), were insensitive to the analogs at a concentration of 8mg/ml. Corynebacterium glutamicum DSS-8 isolated as D-serine-sensitive mutant from an isoleucine auxotroph KY 10150, was found to be sensitive to D-arginine and arginine hydroxamate. Furthermore, DSS-8 produced L-arginine in a cultural medium. L-Arginine analog-resistant mutants were derived from DSS-8 by N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (NTG) treatment. Most of them were found to produce a large amount of L-arginine. An isoleucine revertant from one of these mutants produced 19.6mg/ml of L-arginine in the medium containing 15% (as sugar) of molasses.
The mechanism of the sensitivity to L-arginine analogs and that of the production of L-arginine in the D-serine-sensitive mutant, DSS-8, were investigated. DSS-8 seems to be a mutant having increased permeability to D- and L-arginine.