Nutritional Requirements of Micrococcus freudenreichii. ∗

Abstract

Summary

The nutritional requirements of Micrococcus freudenreichii 8459 for amino acids, vitamins, purines, pyrimidines, and carbohydrates have been studied. Three complete mixtures of amino acids gave considerable variation in growth, indicating that the organism is sensitive to the ratios of the various amino acids present. Eight amino acids were indispensable for growth. No single vitamin was shown to be essential, but growth was light in the absence of pantothenic acid, riboflavin, or folic acid. The single addition of any of the purines or purine ribosides tested supported heavy growth, but none of the pyrimidines or their pentose derivatives tested permitted growth in the absence of a purine. Of 21 carbohydrates tested, 9 were capable of serving as an energy source for M. freudenreichii. Growth was greatly improved when CO₂ was supplied to the medium as NaHCO₃.