PSEUDOMONAS AUREOFACIENS KLUYVER AND PHENAZINE α-CARBOXYLIC ACID, ITS CHARACTERISTIC PIGMENT

Abstract

A bacterium which produced a soluble orange pigment was isolated from a soil sample. The orange color was readily extracted from the culture with chloroform and behaved in a manner suggesting the presence of a phenazine pigment, al-though not resembling the known phenazine pigments. Upon isolation, it was found to be primarily phenazine alpha-carboxylic acid. Three cultures isolated at Peoria, and another strain isolated by A. J. Kluyver and his associates of Delft, have been studied to furnish a description of the species, named Pseudomonas aureofaciens. One isolate has repeatedly given yields of one g of phenazine alpha-carboxylic acid/1 of culture both in shake flasks and pilot plant equipment. Like other known phenazine compounds phenazine alpha-carboxylic acid is biologically active, and is inhibitory to the growth in artificial culture of selected plant pathogenic bacteria and molds.