Synchronous germination of Streptomyces antibioticus spores: tool for the analysis of hyphal growth in liquid cultures.

We have devised a method for obtaining synchronous and dispersed growth of Streptomyces antibioticus in liquid cultures. After ultrasonic treatment, most of the spores germinated at the same time, yielding hyphae very similar in length. Dispersed growth was achieved in media without Ca2+ and in which the levels of Fe2+ and Mg2+ were carefully controlled. Studies on the kinetics of growth carried out with synchronous cultures of young hyphae revealed a multiphasic pattern of hyphal elongation, with successive periods of linear growth and changes in growth rate at defined intervals.