TRANSFORMATION OF BACILLUS SUBTILIS IN POLYGLUTAMATE PRODUCTION BY DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID FROM B. NATTO

摘要

Bacillus natto Asahikawa produces a considerable amount of polyglutamate (PGA) and its γ-glutamyltranspeptidase (γ-GTP) activity is 80 times higher than that of the transformable strain B. subtilis Marburg which cannot produce PGA. The genetic character of high PGA productivity in B. natto Asahikawa was transferred to B. subtilis Marburg by the DNA-mediated transformation. Among transformants that acquired high productivity of stringy substance, 4 strains produced a higher amount of PGA. The activities of γ-GTP from the representative 4 transformants were 20 times higher than the activity of B. subtilis Marburg. These results suggested the presence of correlation between PGA productivity and γ-GTP activity, and the presence of a specific gene(s) that participated in the production of PGA in B. natto.