Chapter V 



83 



Metabolism 



attacked (308). Many forms are able to utilize complex humus com- 

 pounds of soil, as will be shown later. 



Certain organic compounds, such as phospholipids, favor extensive 

 vegetative growth of actinomycetes. When living or heat-killed, 

 washed suspensions of bacteria are used as sources of nitrogen, growth of 

 actinomycetes is not enhanced, even in the case of those forms which 

 have the capacity to bring about lysis of the bacteria. This led Erik- 

 son (115) to conclude that only small quantities of nitrogen result from 

 the lysis of bacteria, in fact, little more than those found in autolyzates 

 of suspensions of insusceptible bacteria. 



Mineral nutrierits.— Among the mineral nutrients, phosphorus, potas- 



Table 11: The iitilixation of carbon and nitrogen sources by S. coelicolor (78):- 



. t Dry weight and pigment intensity of glucose control taken as 100. 



i Basal medium (gm/1): glucose— 10.0, yeast extract— 0.5, K2HPO4— 0.5, MgS04 . 7H2O— 0.25, 

 tt Dry weight and pigment intensity of asparagine control taken as 100. 



