The effect of the pH and the presence of glucose during growth on the production of α and θ toxins and hyaluronidase by Clostridium welchii

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Abstract
C. welchii, Type A, strain S107, was grown in a peptone-salt-beef-extract medium with and without glucose, the pH being stabilized in each case at various values within the growth range 5.5-8.5. Under these conditions the production of a and 6 toxins and hyaluronidase per mg. dry wt. of organism varies with the age of the culture, being small in young cultures and increasing to a maximum at the time when active cell division ceases. In the absence of glucose, 6 toxin production per mg. dry wt. of organism is max. for a growth pH 7.5; glucose increases the yield at all pH values and shifts the value for maximum production to 8. In the absence of glucose a toxin is produced only when the medium pH lies between 5.5 and 7 with a max. production at 6; in the presence of glucose the max. production takes place at medium pH values 7-7.5. The formation of hyaluronidase per mg. dry wt. of organism is least when the medium pH is 7 and increases as the medium pH becomes more acid or alkaline.

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