The possible involvement of a plasmid(s) in actinomycin synthesis by Streptomyces parvulus and Streptomyces antibioticus.

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Abstract
The treatment of S. parvullus and S. antibioticus with acriflavine or novobiocin resulted in the loss of ability to produce actinomycin. The concomitant loss of ability to form aerial mycelium and the incidence of auxotrophic progeny (S. parvullus) were low relative to the loss of the antibiotic-producing property. Protoplast fusion induced by polyethylene glycol 4000, using suitable auxotrophic strains of S. parvullus, resulted in high recombination frequencies to prototrophy (9.6-15%). When fusion was carried out between auxotrophic act+ and act- strains, respectively, there was a high frequency (84-95%) of the actinomycin synthesizing character among the prototrophic recombinants examined. No actinomycin-producing recombinant was detected in similar experiments between auxotrophic non-reproducing strains.