Growth and cellulolytic activity of Cellulomonas flavigena

Abstract

Growth factor requirements, growth kinetics, and the ability to produce the enzyme cellulase were examined in the cellulolytic bacterium Cellulomonas flavigena KIST 321. The organism was found to require only thiamine for growth in mineral salts medium containing simple sugars or cellulose. Growth rates on various carbohydrates suggested that disruption of the crystalline structure was the rate-limiting step in the utilization of crystalline cellulose, and hydrolysis of the polymer itself was as rapid as the uptake of the hydrolytic product. When the organism was grown on cellulose the cellulolytic activity appeared to be bound to the cell at the beginning of the exponential growth phase: only after this did cell-free enzyme activity appear. The cell-free enzyme appeared to be unstable, and its activity decreased at the beginning of the stationary phase.