Stabilization of a histidine-producing strain of Serratia marcescens

A decrease in histidine productivity was observed during subculture of a histidine-producing strain of Serratia marcescens. The decrease was accompanied by an increase in the number of wild-type revertants. Adenine accelerated the growth of producing strain HT-2892 to nearly equal that of revertants, and histidine production was stable because the depletion of ATP in strain HT-2892 was restored by adenine. To increase the intracellular ATP content, mutants resistant to 6-methylpurine, an antagonist of adenine, were isolated from strain HT-2892. 6-Methylpurine-resistant mutant MPr90 grew more rapidly than the parent producing strain and produced L-histidine stably, even when it was subjected to subculture in medium without adenine. ATP depletion was restored in strain MPr90, probably owing to the derepression of adenylosuccinate synthetase in AMP biosynthesis.