H. Boyd Woodruff

Coenzyme Q. XVII. Isolation of coenzyme Q10 from bacterial fermentation

Abstract Crystalline coenzyme Q10 has been newly isolated from a fermentation using Pseudomonas denitrificans. Previously, the presence of Q9 in Pseudomonas fluorescens, and Q10 in Neurospora crassa and in Chromatium was reported by others, but without evidence based on characterization of isolated crystalline material. We found Q9 in five other species of Pseudomonas, Q8 and Q9 in Pseudomonas fluorescens, and evidence for the presence of some form of Q in 32 cultures, representing 20 species out of 107 cultures which were examined. Coenzyme Q10 can now be produced by a suitable fermentation, rather than by isolation from mammalian tissue.

ANTIBIOTIC SUBSTANCES PRODUCED BY BACTERIA

In 1877, Pasteur1 reported that laboratory animals, injected with the causative agent of anthrax (Bacillus anthracis) and common saprophytic bacteria, failed to develop the disease. This effect was ascribed to oxygen-starvation of the anthrax organism, brought about by utilization of oxygen by the saprophyte. During the years that followed, the inhibitory action was found to be associated with many mixed cultures and has come to be known as microbial antagonism. We now know that antagonisms, in the majority of cases, may be charged to the production by one microorganism of metabolic products which have toxic or inhibitory activity for other microorganisms. Such chemical identities have come to be known as antibiotics. As is often the case with scientific studies, chance observation led to the study of many antibiotics. Thus, Emmerich,2 during a demonstration before his class, accidentally discovered that a guinea pig that had been previously injected with a culture of Streptococcus erysipelatis did not develop cholera when inoculated with Vibrio cholerae. This was followed closely by Bouchard’s3 observation that rabbits, previously inoculated with Bacillus anthracis, did not develop anthrax when small amounts of cultures of Pseudomoms aeruginosa were injected, a finding that was later extended to include sterilized Pseudomonas aeruginosa cultures. The mass of literature, often conflicting, that has accumulated concerning these antagonistic activities, leads one to realize that only through the chemical isolation of the antibiotics concerned is it possible to completely understand the antagonistic phenomena. In the case of Pseudomoms aeruginosa antagonisms, the activity has been variously ascribed to enzymes, fatty acids, surface tension depressants, pigments, etc. In the 67 years since this type of antagonism was first noticed, no less than two phenazine derivatives, with their structure confirmed by synthesis, and five crystalline compounds of unknown structure, all with antibiotic activity, have been isolated from this one organism. Is it any wonder that different investigators, working with different strains of this organism and different media, have reported conflicting results? Returning to the discovery of antagonistic bacteria, four conditions have furthered their investigation. The first of these is chance, which

Studies on the ecology of West Australian actinomycetes: Factors which influence the diversity and types of actionomycetes in Australian soils.

A statistical technique has been employed to study the effects of various environmental factors in altering the actinomycete populations of soils located in the western part of Australia. Over 12,000 actinomycetes obtained at 28 different locations were included in the evaluation. Among factors that had a significant influence were the geographic area at which the sample was taken, the nature of plant rhizosphere, and a rainstorm. Seasonal changes in population did occur, but there was considerable stability of population with time. Although marked differences occurred in types of actinomycetes present among different geographic locations, multiple samples taken within a location at distances of 30 cm or greater showed marked similarity in populations. There were varied degrees of diversity among the populations studied. The population that developed after a rainstorm was low in diversity, whereas the populations of root rhizospheres were as diverse as those of plant-free soil-litter areas. In assessing the ecology of soil actinomycetes, it is important to consider the degree of change in population induced by an environmental factor and also its effect on diversity, since the effects may be complementary or may be opposite in nature.

Patenting of hybridomas and genetically engineered microorganisms

SummaryMany new technologies arrived at through basic research have practical applications. Two recent breakthroughs in microbiology, recombinant DNA techniques and hybridoma techniques, will permit designing cells for specific practical purposes resulting in new products or functions of commercial significance. The unique cell or its usefulness, or both, may satisfy the requirements of a patentable invention, i.e. an inventive act having utility and novelty. Ownership of such patents permits recovery of expenses incurred in the invention process and investment for all concerned in additional research. An integral part of the patenting process is submission of the new cell to an official repository, an outstanding example of which is The American Type Culture Collection.