BIOCHEMISTRY OF THE USTILAGINALES: XI. METABOLIC PRODUCTS OF USTILAGO ZEAE IN SUBMERGED CULTURE

Abstract
Ether-soluble "oils" of specific gravity > 1 were produced extracellularly in yields of over 16 gm./liter fermentation mixture by strains of Ustilago zeae growing in shaken flasks on medium containing cerelose, urea, and sugar beet molasses. The bulk of the oily material was shown to be a glycoside of mannose and erythritol, and in addition, itaconic acid and dianthrone were shown to be present. Yields of itaconic acid as determined by a bromine–iodine method at pH 1.2 (Friedkin) reached values of over 15 gm./liter but such values were considerably higher than those indicated by quantitative isolation of this acid. One hundred and eighty isolates of Ustilago were grown on medium with and without calcium carbonate and some 45 isolates produced extracellular oily material, 98 produced ustilagic acid, and 50 produced both crystals and oil. Ether-soluble substances from freeze-dried fermentation mixtures of different isolates ranged from 1 to 12 gm./liter, while methanol-soluble substances from ether-extracted freeze-dried fermentation mixtures ranged from 1 to 45 gm./liter.
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