Effects of Medium Components on L-Ornithine Production by Brevibacterium ketoglutamicum

Effects of yeast extract and ammonium sulfate were investigated on the production of L-or-nithine by an arginine auxotroph, Brevibacterium ketoglutamicum in flask and batch cultures. Yeast extract as an arginine source and ammonium sulfate as an inorganic nitrogen source had significant effects on L-ornithine production and cell growth. L-ornithine production was repressed by the excessive addition of arginine. Reversion of auxotrophic cells to the wild type was observed when the initial yeast extract concenfration was too low. There existed optimum concentrations of yeast extract and ammonium sulfate for L-or-nithine production. The effects of yeast extract and ammonium sulfate concentrations of the Leudeking-Piret model parameters were examined to analyze the relationship between cell growth and L-ornithine production.