[Polymyxin biosynthesis by Bacillus polymyxa during growth limitation by the nutritional sources]

The synthesis of the antibiotic polymyxin M was studied under the conditions of batch and continuous cultivation of Bacillus polymyxa var. Ross whose growth was limited with glucose, phosphate and ammonium nitrogen. Polymyxin M was synthesized when the culture growth decelerated as a result of its limitation with the above compounds. Different amounts of the antibiotic were synthesized depending on the type of a limiting factor. The highest productiveness was found in the case of glucose limitation. The optimal conditions for polymyxin M synthesis were established under the conditions of one-step continuous cultivation.