Salinity-loving fungi in Egyptian soils. II. Preliminary notes on antibiotics from halophilic Penicillium spp.

Two halophilic Penicillium spp., isolated from saline soils, were selected for the present study. Their growth was best with 10% NaCl (w/v) in the nutrient media, but no antibiotics were produced unless relatively high proportions of potassium salts were also available. Conditions for the economic antibiotic production without achieving sterilization are specified. An economic biphasic process of fermentation in replacement culture for the production of antibiotics by halophilic Penicillium species is described.