Penicillin

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Abstract
Strains of Penicillium belonging to the P. notatum-chrysogenum group, including cultures belonging to this group contained in the Northern Regional Research Laboratory collection and 189 new isolates from natural sources, were tested for penicillin production. A total of 241 cultures was investigated. A simple screening test was devised which effectively differentiated between low-producing and promising strains. All but 24 of the strains investigated produced measurable quantities of penicillin. No strains were isolated from nature which exceeded P. notatum NRRL 1249. B21 for the production of penicillin in surface culture. Of all strains studied, 1/4 produced yields of penicillin in surface culture equal to or exceeding the strain of P. notatum NRRL 832 most commonly employed for submerged production. Several new strains were found to produce yields of penicillin equal to NRRL 832 when grown in submerged culture, and a limited number produced yields substantially higher than this strain. Penicillin production could generally be correlated with cultural and structural characteristics of the strains investigated, but physiol. and morph. characteristics were not strictly interdependent.