STudies on the Microbial Pigment(I)

미생물의 색소에 관한 연구. 제1보

The bacteria of red colonies isolated from soil were identified as Serratia marcescens. The best solvent for pigment extraction was n-buthanol and the pigment was identified as prodigiosene. The extracted pigment was stable on temperature and light but not on acidity. The redpigment color changed into red in alkaline solution. The maximum absorbancy of pigment was 466 nm in alkaline condition and 540 nm in acid condition. And the pigment formed single spot on the TLC(starch). By the result of infra red spectrum, the red pigment has the same absorption pattern comparing with, the prodigisin produced by S. marcescens strain Nima. It was confirmed that the pigment was secondary metabolite and that the maximal peak of production appeared at 30 hrs after the inoculation, when the bacterial growth was in statinary state. Referring to the effect of temperature, the pigment was not formed at $36^{\circ}C$ and the optimal temperature for both of bactrial growth and pigmentation was $30^{\circ}C$. The optimal range of pH for pigmentation was 5.0 and under the condition the bacterial growth was not affected at all. Examining the effects of light, the bacterial pigment ation was more increased in darkness than in visible light.