Abstract
WHEN cultivating Penicillium notatum Westl. and related fungi for the purpose of producing penicillin, it was soon noticed that the production of penicillin was inhibited by certain bacteria. It was proved that this was due to the fact that the bacteria in question formed an apparently enzymatic substance able to destroy penicillin. This substance, which was called penicillinase, was first demonstrated by Abraham and Chain1 in Esch. coli and M. lysodeikticus. It was later found in paracolon bacilli2, in B. subtilis3,4, in penicillin-resistant staphylococci5, as well as in various other micro-organisms6,7,8. In addition, commercial preparations of taka-diastase and clarase were found to have a similar effect9,10. Preparations of penicillinase, like those of other enzymes, are more or less thermolabile. The penicillinase from Esch. coli, for example, is easily destroyed by heat1, whereas that from B. subtilis, on the other hand, seems to be more stable3.
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WIEDLING, S. A Thermostabile, Fungistatic Factor from Escherichia coli. Nature 156, 204 (1945). https://doi.org/10.1038/156204a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/156204a0
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