[Effect of mitomycin on the biosynthesis of extracellular endonuclease by Serratia marcescens].

The effect of mitomycin C on extracellular endonuclease activity of Serratia marcescens was studied. It was shown that in a concentration of 0.02-1.0 micrograms/ml, mitomycin C markedly increased biosynthesis of the endonuclease by growing and washed cells, the cell productivity being increased 80-100 times. The highest increase in the cell productivity was observed when mitomycin C was added to the cells at the end of the growth exponential phase. The increase in the activity of the extracellular endonuclease was due to the de novo synthesis of the enzyme since it was inhibited by chloramphenicol.