Overproduction of Clavulanic Acid by UV Mutagenesis of Streptomyces clavuligerus

Clavulanic acid is produced industrially by fermentation of Streptomyces clavuligerus and researches have increased its production by strain improvement, recombinant DNA technology, and media composition and growth condition optimization. The main objective of this study was to increase the level of clavulanic acid production from Streptomyces clavuligerus (DSM 738), using UV irradiation. After incubation, the spores and aerial mycelia were scraped off the agar plate by a sterile loop. After passing through a cotton wool, the serially diluted spore suspension was spread on GYM- agar containing caffeine. The plates were irradiated with UV light, wrapped in aluminum foil and incubated. The colonies were sub-cultured again to express the mutations. An aliquot of the spore suspension prepared from the resulted culture was poured in GYM agar plates and incubated. The plates were overlaid with nutrient-agar containing penicillin G and Klebsiela pneumoniae, and incubated. The inhibition zone diameter was measured and compared with the wild type colony. Repeating this procedure, the overproducer mutants were selected. Concentration of clavulanic acid was determined by HPLC analysis. It was concluded that secondary metabolites, mainly antibiotics containing clavulanic acid, were produced about 6–7 days after the growth, and concentration of clavulanic acid was increased up to two-folds after UV mutagenesis.