Fermentative production of cycloheximide by Streptomyces griseus and Streptomyces noursei

Abstract Two species of Streptomyces namely Streptomyces griseus and Streptomyces noursei were used for the fermentative production of cycloheximide on ten different media. For optimum production different media were required by each type of micro‐organism. Egyptian black strap molasses (50% reducing sugars) was favoured for both microorganisms, while other carbon sources such as sucrose was the best for S. griseus and glucose was suitable for S. noursei. Organic nitrogen sources were generally suitable for the growth of both microorganisms and the antibiotic production was best with soyabean meal for S. griseus and with casein for S. noursei. The optimum concentrations of KH 2 PO 4 were 5.0 and 3.0 g/l for S. griseus and S. noursei respectively.