Pyrimidine base supplementation effects curdlan production in Agrobacterium sp. ATCC 31749

Pyrimidine base supplementation of the culture medium was found to increase curdlan production by Agrobacterium sp. ATCC 31749. With sucrose as a carbon source, adding uracil or cytosine to the culture medium of strain ATCC 31749 after 48 h of growth resulted in an elevation of curdlan levels by 1.7-fold or 1.5-fold, respectively, after 120 h compared to no addition. Supplementation of the pyrimidine bases thymine, dihydrouracil or orotic acid had no effect upon curdlan production. Biomass production by strain ATCC 31749 after uracil supplementation was noted to increase by 3.0-fold after 120 h of growth compared to the control cultures. The increase in curdlan production by Agrobacterium sp. ATCC 31749 following uracil addition appeared to be related to the observed increase in biomass production.