ASYMMETRICA-FASCICULATA 537 



P. urticae series. Furthermore, the culture closely resembles this series in its bio- 

 chemical behavior (see below). 



Occurrence and Significance 



Penicillium urticae Bainier appears to be widely distributed but not 

 particularly abundant in nature. Its typical habitat is soil, but cultures 

 have been isolated from decaying vegetation, sheep dung, and other sub- 

 strata. Their role in decomposition processes has not been investigated. 



Biochemically, principal interest in the series centers around the produc- 

 tion of an antibiotic reported by Raistrick, et at. (1943) and Anslow, Rais- 

 trick, and Smith (1943) to be produced by strains of Penicillium patulum, 

 hence designated patulin. The same antibiotic has been reported from 

 other species of Penicillium and Aspergillus under different names by other 

 investigators. Upon a basis of priority two of these, claviformin and 

 clavacin, take precedence over the name patulin. Largely because patulin 

 was first announced as possessing curative value for treatment of the com- 

 mon cold (Raistrick, et al., 1943), the name received immediate and wide 

 acceptance. This name is probably still used more commonly than any 

 other, although claviformin is probably the name which should be recog- 

 nized. The history of this antibiotic, which is of considerable interest, 

 has been summarized by Lochhead, Chase, and Landerkin (1946) as 

 follows: 



"In 1942 Wiesner reported the concentration of a substance from culture filtrates 

 of Aspergillus clavatus that inhibited growth of Staphylococcus aureus. Waksman, 

 Horning, and Spencer (1942) likewise found the same fungus to yield an antibiotic 

 substance, obtained as a crude concentrate, that was active against a variety of 

 Gram-negative, as well as Gram-positive, bacteria and that was named clavacin. 

 At the same time Chain, Florey, and Jennings (1942) isolated from culture filtrates of 

 Penicillium claviforme a crystalline compound, active against Gram-negative and 

 Gram-positive organisms, to which the name claviformin was given. In 1943 Anslow, 

 Raistrick, and Smith and Raistrick et al. (1943) reported the isolation of patulin, an 

 antibiotic substance produced by Penicillium patulum and P. expansum, obtainable 

 in crystalline form, with the empirical formula C7H6O4, and for which the structure 

 anhydro-3-hydroxymethylene-tetrahydro-7-pyrone-2-carboxylic acid was proposed. 



"From the metabolism solution of Wiesner's strain of A. clavatus, Bergel et al. 



(1943) isolated, as a crystalline entity, an active substance to which the name clavatin 

 was applied and that was found identical with claviformin. Furthermore, Bergel 

 et al. (1944) established the identity of clavatin with patulin, which latter was shown 

 by Chain et al. (1944) to be similar to claviformin. In the meantime Hooper et al. 



(1944) reported clavacin to be identical with patulin, a finding confirmed by Katzman 

 et al. (1944). It appears, therefore, that claviformin, clavacin, clavatin, and patulin 

 are the same substance. Since claviformin appears to have been the term first used 

 for the crystalline material this name is used in this report. "^ 



* Dates substituted for numbered references cited in Lochhead, Chase, and Lan- 

 derkin. 



