In order to investigate the role of a protease in protein metabolism during the germination of azuki seeds, the purification of the portease was carried out by employing fractionation with ammonium sulfate, dialysis against distilled water, and elution chromatography on a column of DEAE-cellulose. The enzyme preparation thus obtained was homogeneous in ultracentrifugal patterns.

View full abstract

Pediococcus soyac, the soy sauce lactic acid bacteria, requires two kinds of factors for growth as well as for salt-tolerance. These two factors are: glycine-betaine and an unknown substance tentatively named P-factor. The present paper reports that carnitine (vitamin B_T) is substitutable for glycine-betaine for its growth promoting effect on the organism. This is the first microorganism requiring carnitine as a specific growth factor.

View full abstract

Various attempts were made to accumulate 5 (4)-amino-4 (5)-imidazolecarboxamide (abreviated as AICA; in this paper, separate analyses for the riboside forms were not attempted, and hence AICA and AICA-riboside will be presented as total AICA) in a shaking culture medium by Escherichia coli strain B. The accumulation of non-acetylatable, diazotizable amines was accomplished by the addition of 0.01% of sulfadiazine, 0.2% of glucose, and 2% of peptone in the medium for sixteen hours at 30°C. E coli strain B was able to accumulate the amines in the pepton medium, even when glucose and the sulfonamide inhibtor were omitted. Although paper chromatographic and spectrophotometric analyses proved the accumulation of AICA and AICA-riboside by E. coli train B in the medium, another substance colored by the Bratton and Marshall method was also accumulated.

View full abstract

Accumulation of L-isoleucine and L-valine was studied on 14 genera, 47 species and 110 strains of aerobic bacteria using bacterial type cultures. A large amount of L-isoleucine and a small amount of L-valine accumulated when 1% of DL-α-aminobutyric acid was added to the culture medium. As a rule, facultative aerobes such as Aerobacter, Erwinia, Serratia and Bacillus showed good accumulation. In the absence of α-aminobutyric acid, powerful L-isoleucine accumulators produced a large amount of L-valine, although the accumulation of Lisoleucine was scarcely observed under that condition. In the presence of α-aminobutyric acid, the accumulation of L-valine was generally suppressed, but in several strains, on the contrary, the accumulation increased as well as that of L-isoleucine. When DL-threonine was used instead of α-aminobutyric acid, the amount of L-isoleucine accumulated was not as high as that with α-aminobutyric acid in almost all strains except Serratia marcescens. It was concluded that a distinct relationship between bacterial genera or species and accumulation of L-isoleucine did not exist, that is, powerful accumulators were limited to special strains, and that the addition of α-aminobutyric acid was necessary for the accumulation of a large amount of L-isoleucine.

View full abstract

The microbiological reduction of the 20-carbonyl group of steroids has been investigated. Candida pulcherrima IFO 0964 and Sporotrichum gougeroti IFO 5982 converted the following substrates into the corresponding 20β-hydroxy derivatives (yields of the products are indicated in parentheses) Reichstein's Compound S (60-70%) and 17α, 21-dihydroxypregna-1, 4-diene-3, 20-dione (40-80%). Rhodotorula glutinis IFO 0395 converted the following substrates into the corresponding 20α-hydroxy derivatives: Reichstein's Compound S (65%), 17α, 21-dihydroxypregna-1, 4-diene-3, 20-dione (80%), 11β, 17α-dihydyoxypregn-4-ene-3, 20-dione (45%) and 17α, 19, 21-trihydroxypregn-4-ene-3, 20-dione (10%).

View full abstract

X-Ray analysis was carried out on a purified glucomannan specimen isolated from Akamatsu wood (Pinus densiflora SIEB. et ZUCC.). An X-ray diffraction diagram of a pure glucomannan showed a distinct crystalline pattern of undegraded glucomannan molecule having two diffraction points of 21° and 23° respectively but arabinoglucuronoxylan had no crystalline structure. An aqueous solution of purified glucomannan yielded characteristic skin-band when the solubility of the glucomannan was reduced. The skin-band indicated an optical anisotropic property under polarization microscope so that the skin-band was thought to consist of the ordered glucomannan molecules.

View full abstract

The growth of Zygosaccharomyces soja was stronglyinhibited by the addition of 10^-2 Mmonoiodoacetic acid and 10^-3 M-potassium cyanide. The formation of a considerable amount of riboflavin was recognized after 5 days cultivation of this organism in presence of the aforementioned two inhibitors, and its growth was considerably improved after the formation and accumulation of riboflavin. Furthermore, the effect of the aforementioned two inhibitors upon the growth of this organism in young stage was compensated with the addition of riboflavin.

View full abstract

(1) The authors determined the O₂, uptake and CO₂ evolution by the intact cells of Zygosaccharomyces soja (obtained by the cultivation in presence of 10^-2M-monoiodoacetic acid and 10^-3M-potassium cyanide) in a reaction mixture containing 6.6×10^-2M-glucose, 10^-2Mmonoiodoacetic acid and 10^-3M-potassium cyanide, in the presence and absence of riboflavin. The R.Q. value in the presence of riboflavin was observed to be smaller than that in its absence.
(2) The same phenomena were observed when the intact cells of the same organism, obtained by the cultivation in absence of monoiodoacetic acid and cyanide, were used for the experiment.
(3) The authors found that cresyl violet, methylene blue, α-naphthoquinone and thionine also accelerated the O₂ uptake of Z. soja in the aforementioned reaction mixture. This phenomenon was also observed when the cellfree extract was used for the experiment.

View full abstract

Alginase obtained from liver of abalone, Haliotis discus hannai, was found to hydrolyze alginic acid to a new unsaturated diuronide, which showed ultraviolet absorption peak at 232mμ, Some of the properties of this compound were found similar to those of the known unsaturated uronides derived from hyaluronic acid, pectin or chondroitin sulfate.

View full abstract

We have made an investigation on the specific liberation of fatty acids from the molecules of soybean phosphatidyl inositol by Trimeresurus flavoviridis venom and a pancreatic lipase preparation in order to utilize the reaction for the study of the fatty acid distribution in phosphatidyl inositols. Both the venom and a pancreatic lipase preparation liberated about one half of the total fatty acids in phosphetidyl inositol, leaving probably a lysophosphatidyl inositol which contained mostly saturated fatty acids, whereas the most part of the component unsaturated acids was found in the liberated acids. The formation of the other hydrolysis products by these enzymes is also discussed.

View full abstract