86 J. T. HOLDEN 
that penicillin production follows the exhaustion of the amino acids in the medium. 
MELNIKOVA AND SURIKOVA!™ also observed that penicillin formation occurred when 
the intracellular pool amino acids were relatively high. However, identical changes 
were also observed in strains which do not produce the antibiotic. In any case, such 
studies have provided considerable analytical data for Penicillium chrysogenum some 
of which are shown in Table VII. The data of JANIcKI AND SkuPIN® are particularly 
striking in view of the relatively high levels of serine, leucines, valine, proline and 
tryptophane reported. 
SIMONART AND CuHow have studied the pool in Aspergillus oryzae and described the 
changes in its composition produced by variation in cultural and nutritional con- 
ditions'®~16°, The composition shown in Table VII includes all the compounds seen 
when the mold is grown at pH values between 3 and 7. Ornithine and y-aminobutyric 
acid are found only at the lower pH’s, whereas at higher values most of the amino acids 
occur in larger amounts. This study will be considered again later. 
A large number of fungi have been examined, particularly organisms such as the 
smuts and rusts which parasitize commercial crops. Table VIII shows the pool com- 
position of various other fungi selected to illustrate the variety of pool types in this 
group of organisms, the lack of obvious taxonomic correlation and again the lack of 
agreement between separate studies. The pools generally contain a wide assortment 
of amino acids but the few quantitative studies available indicate that the total 
amounts of amino acids contained therein are not large. y-Aminobutyric acid and /- 
alanine are frequently found whereas hydroxyproline has been cited in only one 
report! and tryptophane appears uniformly not to be encountered although it was 
found in some of the organisms included in Table VII. CLosE?? has reported on the 
pool in eight fungi selected to represent various taxonomic and nutritional types. 
No obvious correlation between pool composition and these properties was encoun- 
tered. CLOSE mentioned the possible occurrence of a-aminoadipic acid, 3,4-dihydroxy- 
phenylalanine, ethanolamine and taurine in some of these organisms. Except for 
Tilletia caries mycelium™! which may contain ethanolamine, and Neurospora® some 
strains of which contain ethanolamine and taurine, these substances have not been 
reported in the fungi. The two reports for Fusarium javanicum are in substantial 
disagreement, again most likely due to difference in strain and cultural conditions. 
The report by VENKATA Ram!*® includes data for 22 species of this genus. Fusarium 
conidia appear to contain a less varied pool than the vegetative mycelium. On the 
other hand, Puccinia graminis urediospores contain a more diversified pool, as do 
spores of Tilletia caries. In the latter, germination is accompanied by the appearance 
of glutamine, ethanolamine and large amounts of serine but without other substantial 
changes in the pool. This organism also contains djenkolic acid, an infrequently 
reported substance. 
In addition to the fungi cited in Tables VII and VIII and the accompanying dis- 
cussion the following organisms have been examined: Aspergillus niger!’ ; Chromocrea 
spinulosa*’; Calviceps litoralis and other ergots!®, 1°; Cyaterellus cornucopeoides* ; 
Dictyostelium discoideum; Emericellopsis mirabilis, E. terricola*; Fusarium cul- 
morum*? 189; Fusarium buharicum, F. bulbigenum var. lycopersici, F. caucasicum, F. 
chlamydosporum, F. conglutinans, F. dimerum, F. equiseti, F. lateritium, F. lini, F. 
moniliforme, F. orthoceras, F. oxysporum, F. poae, F. sambucinum, F. scirpi, F. semt- 
tectum, F. solam, F. sporotrichioides, F.udum, F. vasinfectum'®*; F. lycopersict*; 
References p. 105/108 
