Effect of Some Synthetic Peptides on the Alpha-Toxin Production by Clostridium Perfringens Pb6k

Jn a previous paper, it was shown that a certain fraction derived from a peptone was effective in promoting the growth and alpha-toxin production by Cl. perf ringens PB6K (Murata et al., 1958b) . However, isolation and identification of the active principle (s) have not yet been successful, although it was suggested that substances of peptide nature might be responsible for this activity. In 1959, Jayko et al. showed by using 29 synthetic peptides that some combinations of three or four peptides remarkably stimulated the lecithinase production when added to the synthetic medium. Among these peptides, glycyl-L-asparagine appeared to be most effective in lecithinase synthesis. The present authors tried to follow their experiments but were not able to confirm the toxin promoting effect of the synthetic peptides used by them. However, it was evident that fractions obtained from a protein digest were effective in the toxin production.