Production of D-alanine by Corynebacterium fascians

A strain identified as Corynebacterium fascians was found to accumulate extracellular D-alanine from glycerol. Cultural conditions for the accumulation of D-alanine were investigated and, as a result, a yield of 7 g of D-alanine per liter was obtained after a 96-h incubation in a medium containing 5% glycerol, 4% (NH(4))(2)HPO(4), and 0.3% corn steep liquor. Optical purity of D-alanine was dependent upon the concentration of corn steep liquor. At the optimal condition, almost optically pure D-alanine was formed and readily isolated (5 g/liter) from the fermentation broth. The product was not contaminated with any detectable amount of other amino acids, except for glycine which was present at a concentration of less than 1 percent.