Induced production of acidic polysaccharide by benzalkonium chloride in a bacterium and some properties of the acidic polysaccharide produced.

Abstract

A bacterium isolated as resistant to alkyldimethylbenzylammonium chloride (benzalko-nium chloride, BC) and tentatively identified as Enterobacter cloacae, was induced by BC to produce acidic polysaccharide. The optimum concentration of BC for production of the poly-saccharide was 0.1% and the polysaccharide produced amounted to 1.0_??_2.0mg per ml of cul-ture broth. The best carbon and nitrogen sources for the polysaccharide production were glycerol and polypeptone. The acidic polysaccharide was consisted of fucose, galactose, glucose, glucuronic acid, pyruvate, and acetate, like colanic acid. The production of the acidic polysaccharide was not induced by the addition of trimethylbenzylammonium chloride and tetramethylammonium chloride, but it was induced by p-fluorophenylalanine, and the results are discussed.