[Characteristics of cephalosporin C biosynthesis on a synthetic medium].

The attitude of the cephalosporin C-producing organism to various sources of carbon and nitrogen was studied. Carbohydrates such as maltose, starch and sucrose and nitrogen sources such as mineral ((NH4)2SO4 + KNO3) and organic nitrogen (asparagine) may be successfully used for the culture growth and antibiotic biosynthesis. The use of the mineral nitrogen necessitates additional regulation of pH during the cultivation process. The effect of pH on cephalosporin C biosynthesis was studied and its optimal values were found. It was shown that methyloleate played no specific role in cephalosporin C biosynthesis. It is an additional source of carbon which may be replaced by whale oil. It was demonstrated that the 1st stage of assimilation of inorganic sulfate, i.e. its reduction was blocked in C. acrimonium 218A. The study on the problem of phases in production of cephalosporin C showed that unlike the penicillin-producing organism C. acremonium had no capacity for the antibiotic biosynthesis at the early developmental stages irrespective of the cultivation conditions.