A study of lipides of Penicillium chrysogenum.

Relatively few studies have been made on the lipide metabolism of Penicillium chrysogenum, although large quantities of these compounds are used as antifoam agents in the production of penicillin. Goldschmidt and Koffler (1) demonstrated that unsaturated long chain fatty acids present in the antifoam were responsible for stimulation of penicillin yields, since many physiologically inert compounds (i.e. mineral oil) were non-toxic, but did not increase penicillin yields even though some were excellent antifoam agents. Rolinson and Lumb (2) studied the oxidation of stearic and oleic acids by P. chrysogenum, but made no attempt to correlate fatty acid utilization with its effect on penicillin production. Since the results in our laboratory concerning the stimulation of penicillin production by unsaturated fatty acids have correlated with those of Goldschmidt and Koffler (1)) a study of the metabolism of the higher fatty acids by P. chrysogenum Q-176 has been made. The fate of unsaturated fatty acids added to the culture medium of P. chrysogenum Q-176 with the aid of radioactive isotopes was investigated and also the lipide content of the mold mycelium.