One strain of thermophilic bacillus, which produced an amino acid, was isolated from a feces source with Bennett medium.
2. This strain was identified to Bacillus coagulans.
3. The amino acid produced by this strain was identified as DL-alanine.
4. The cultural conditions were investigated, and ammonium chloride was favourable for the amino acid production.

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The metabolic half lives of glycine in the tissue-proteins of the rooster were determined by single oral dose of 2-C¹⁴ glycine before measuring the amount of synthesized glycine in the rooster by “constant pool” method. The specific activity of glycine originated from the purine ring of uric acid showed the highest value for 5 hrs. after administration, following rapid decrease until 7 days, thereafter slower one.
Although the specific activity of glycine in the tissue protein (serum and liver) decreased exponentially, its trend was not distinct in the pectoral muscle, and in the early period its decrease seemed to be considerably fast (t_1/2 about 6 days).
The specific activities of glycine in the serum protein were always higher than those in the liver protein. The metabolic half livers obtained were as follows. Liver: Faster 2 days, slower 11 days. Serum: faster 2 days, slower 11 days. Pectoral muscle: faster 6 days, slower 30 days. Recovery of C¹⁴ into 4-C and 5-C in the purine ring of excreted uric acid during 24 hours after the administration of isotope was about 24%.

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Acid phosphatase of sweet potato root tissue was found to consist of five components by die thylaminoethyl-cell ulose column chromatography, and each component was isolated by the rechromatography. They were not separated by Sephadex G-200 gel filtration. All components hydrolyzed various phosphate compounds including phosphomonoester- and pyrophosphate-linkages. Their optimum pH values were in the range of pH 5 to 6. However, there were observed some differences in optimum pH, Michaelis constant for various substrates and relative maximum velocity among the components.

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A synthetic sequence for the conversion of 6-methoxy-1, 2, 3, 4-tetrahydronaphthalenone (I) to the bridged tetracyclic compound, 2-methoxy-6-oxo-7, 8a-ethano-12-oxo-6, 7, 8, 8a, 9, 10-hexahydrophenanthrene (VII) is described.

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A synthetic sequence for the conversion of 2-methoxycarbonylmethyl-6-methoxy-1, 2, 3, 4-tetrahydronaphthalenone (II) to (±)-3, 16-dioxo-20-nor-hiba-5, (6)-ene is described.

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A study was made on the differences between Brevibacterium thiogenitalis No. 653 and its oleic acid-requiring mutant D-248 in some physiological characteristics.
The most important difference of the characteristics was found in their intracellular fatty acid contents. Namely, the cellular oleic acid content of D-248 was scarcely affected by biotin but limited by the oleic acid which was added to the medium.
On the other hand, various enzyme activities and rates of oxygen uptake for several organic acids were found to be slightly different between the two strains.
These observations suggest that oleic acid has an important role for the production of L-glutamic acid.

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The effect of biotin and oleic acid on the cellular fatty acid contents, and the relation between the cellular fatty acid contents and the productivity of L-glutamic acid were investigated using Brevibacterium thiogenitalis No. 653 and its oleic acid-requiring mutant, D-248.
While the synthesis of palmitic acid in D-248 was stimulated by biotin and competitively reversed by oleic acid added to the culture medium, the level of cellular oleic acid was scarcely affected by biotin but regulated by oleic acid in the medium.
For the productivity of L-glutamic acid, the most important factor was the level of cellular oleic acid, and the effect of cellular palmitic acid was considerably weak. This relation was subjected to a figuration and able to be expressed on the whole as one ex-ponential-like curve. An amount of over 70 per cent of cellular fatty acids was distributed in the phospholipid fraction and its fatty acid composition was almost the same as that of whole cells.

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The purification of the milk clotting enzyme from Mucor pusillus Lindt could be achieved by column chromatography on Amberlite IRC-50 by raising pH from 3.5 to 4.5 and about 70% of activity was recovered after this treatment. After the treatment through the column of DEAE-Sephadex A-25, the trace cellulase activity could be eliminated.
The homogeneity of the purified preparation was proved by ultracentrifugal analysis and electrophoretic patterns at various pH values.
Isoelectric point of this enzyme is considered to lie between pH 3.5 and 3.8.
The enzyme activity was inhibited by Hg⁺⁺ or Fe⁺⁺⁺.
Trypsinogenkinase activity was not contained in this enzyme.

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The antiserum against the milk clotting enzyme from Mucor pusillus reacted with the purified and crude enzyme preparations in precipitin test and inhibited their enzyme activities, but did not react with other enzymes such as rennin, pepsin, acid proteases from Aspergillus saitoi and Aspergillus oryzae, or the culture filtrates of some strains of Mucor and Rhizopus.
The antigen-antibody reaction was so specific that it might be possible with this antibody to identify this enzyme and also the strain itself.
Normal sera from some mammals inhibited this enzyme activity too, but the degree was less than that with rennin.

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Lipids were extracted with chloroform-methanol from Streptomyces sioyaensis and fractionated on a silicic acid column. Lipids of Streptomyces sioyaensis were mainly composed of neutral lipids, cardiolipin, phosphatidylethanolamines, phosphatidylinositolmonomanno-side and a new lysine-containing lipid.

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Effect of auxin treatment upon the alkaloid content of Niotiana was examined using hydroponically grown plants. Nicotine content of Nicotiana tabacum was reduced by the addition of 3-indoleacetic acid or 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid to nutrient solution, and the incorporation of nitrate-¹⁵N into nicotine was decreased by the addition of 2, 4-dichloro-phenoxyacetic acid. Contents of nicotine, nornicotine, anabasine and anatabine in Nicotiana glutinosa were decreased by 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid added to the nutrient solution. Foliar applications of eleven kinds of synthetic auxins were effective in reducing nicotine content of Nicotiana tabacum and the effectiveness of the compounds seemed to be concerned with their auxin activities. Foliar application of auxin tended to increase the dry weight of stems whereas decreased that of roots, and, moreover, higher content of soluble sugars and lower content of starch in leaves were observed by the treatment. A possibility of a practical application of auxin to reduce the nicotine content of tobacco plants were drawn from this work.

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In order to perform hydrocarbon fermentation satisfactorily, it was necessary to get the sample representing the real feature of the broth. However, Corynebacterium hydrocarboclastus S1OB1, which could accumulate a good deal of L-glutamic acid, formed u. coagulated mass of cells like pellet as they grew up, making the broth heterogeneous, To obtain homogeneous broth, addition of some kinds of surfactants was examined. It was made clear that addition of higher alcohol ethers of polyoxyethylene having H. L. B. value of about 15 was effective and emulsified broth could be obtained. Thus time course studies could be performed in hydrocarbon fermentation.

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An optical density of a whole bacterial suspension, prepared from sheep rumen contents, increased very rapidly when the cells were incubated in a glucose-containing medium. This is largely due to the accumulation of intracellular polysaccharide(s) and appears to proceed without cell multiplication. The increase has an apparent relationship with feeding conditions of animals and reflects the availability of easily fermentable sugars for bacteria in the rumen. The data suggest that the ruminal fermentation proceeds under extremely low level of easily fermentable sugars.

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Characterization of S-adenosylmethionine: catechol O-methyltransferase (EC. 2. 1. 1. 6) isolated from bamboo shoot was carried out. Ferulic and sinapic acids which are believed to be lignin precursors are formed by the mediation of the enzyme, and the enzyme activity increased progressively during the lignification of bamboo shoots. Evidences suggest that this enzyme may contribute to the synthesis of lignin precursors.

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The growth characteristics of phages were investigated with the four phages, active on Brevibacterium lactofermentum, which were selected from the respective serological groups, namely, P465 (group I), P46811 (group II), Ap85111 (group III) and P4 (group IV).
The adsorption rate of the phages, P465 and P468II, on the host bacteria was low, whereas that of the phages, Ap85111 and P4, was higher. The adsorption rate constants for the four phages were respectively calculated at 2.02×10^-10, 1.87×10^-10, 4.32×10^-10 and 3.15×10^-10 cros per minute, at 30°C in G₅B₂ medium. With reference to the ionic environ-ment for adsorption, the phages, P465 and Ap85111, specifically required either for Ca⁺⁺ or Mg⁺⁺; the phage P46811, for both; and the phage P4, for neither.
The growth characteristics of these phages were examined by the one-step growth ex-periment. The latent periods of the phages were 50, 53, 57 and 47 minutes, respectively; and the corresponding average burst sizes were about 98, 31, 145 and 126. The growth of the phage P4 was completely suppressed at above 34°C, although the host bacteria and the other three phages were capable of the full growth at that temperature.

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Ovalbumin solution was illuminated with W-lamp in the presence of methylene blue as a sensitizer. The photosusceptibility of amino acid residues of ovalbumin was found to be in the following order, Try>His>Met>Ser. Sulfhydryl group, however, was scarcely decomposed until about eighty per cent of tryptophan residue was decomposed. Free tryptophan was much faster in photodecomposition than bound tryptophan in ovalbumin because of steric and protective effects.
With the increase of methylene blue in the lower concentration than 1.O×10^-5M, the relative quantum yield for the decomposition of tryptophan residue increased. This was elucidated on the assumption that the adsorption of dye molecules on ovalbumin brought about the loss of photosensitizing ability. The pH dependence also was investigated and some other factors influencing photosensitized oxidation were examined.

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Reddish brown crystals were isolated from sake by active carbon followed by silica gel chromatography. This compound is one of the main components in saké-colorants, and is an iron complex of hexapeptide composed of 3 moll. δ-N-Acetyl-δ-N-hydroxyornithine, 2 mols. serine and 1 mol. glycine, and has been identified as ferrichrysin isolated from Aspergillus melleus and A. terreus cultures by W. Keller-Schierlein et al. In saké there is also deferriferrichrysin (iron free ferrichrysin).
Ferrichrysin and deferriferrichrysin in saké are produced by Aspergillus oryzae on steamed rice. Color development of saké caused by contamination of iron is due to the formation of ferrichrysin from deferriferrichrysin.

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A new approach to the synthesis of isoflavones and 2'-hydroxyisoflavones, useful inter-mediates for synthesis of pterocarpinoids, are described. The 2'-hydroxyisoflavone (VIII; R=CH₃, R'=H) synthesized by this method, was converted into (±)-pterocarpin (VII; R=CH₃, R'=H). Attempts to obtain the corresponding isoflavane or isoflavene from the coumarine (XVII) failed.

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Nine strains of bacteria, capable of synthesising amino acids from hydrocarbons, have been identified. Pseudomonas arailla, Ps. fluorescens and Micrococcus ureae, previously reported as hydrocarbons assimilators, were found capable of synthesising amino acids. Pseudomonas taetrolens, Bacillus cereus var. mycoides, Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus sphaericus also synthesised amino acids from hydrocarbons.

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