Nitrogen regulation of β-lactamase production in a mutant of Streptomyces lavendulae (in Japanese with English abstract)

Abstract

The effect of nitrogen source on the β-lactamase activity, glycerol utilization, ammonium ion concentration, and some enzyme activities involved in the nitrogen metabolism was studied in a pleiotropic mutant of Streptomyces lavendulae. When polypepton was used as a nitrogen source, β-lactamase activity and glycerol consumption were very low and slow, respectively, and ammonium ion level was relatively and constantly high during the course of fermentation. In contrast, when casein or soybean meal was used, β-lactamase activity was comparable to the level of the parental strain, glycerol was used quickly and ammonium ion concentration was relatively low. Among the enzymes involved in nitrogen metabolism, glutamine synthetase and alanine dehydrogenase activities were comparable to those of the parental strain when casein was used as a nitrogen source, while the activities remained low when polypepton was used.