FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS ON THE INFLUENCE OF INORGANIC CATIONS ON GROWTH AND TOXIN PRODUCTION BY CLOSTRIDIUM PERFRINGENS PB6K

Abstract
Na ion and to a lesser extent K ion enhanced the growth and synthesis of various toxic proteins of C. perfringens PB6K. The optimum concentration of the total Na and K ions was between 0.1 M and 0.15 M. Autolysis of the organism was often observed when grown in a synthetic medium suitable for toxin production. Ca prevented the autolysis without affecting the yield of alpha toxin. Although autolysis was inhibited by most of other divalent cations, they were harmful for the toxin production. A new synthetic medium was formulated.