USE OF HEN LYSOZYME FOR PROTECTION AGAINST BACTERIAL-CONTAMINATION OFIN-VITRO EMBRYO CULTURES

Curative treatments with antibiotics and hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) were used to salvage embryo cultures contaminated with Baccillus subt ilis. The use of HEWL gave good control of Baccillus subtilis, but no control of Erwinia. HEWL was better than antibiotics, being much less phytotoxic. The antibiotics piperacillin, ampicillin and imipenem were also found to be ineffective against Erwinia, HEWL, at a final concen tration of 1 mg per mt, was used as a preventive and curative agent fo r routine use in embryo culture of Triticum aestivum and other Tritice ae, as it cured from 30% to 50% of bacterial contamination problems ov er a one year period. Standard in vitro culture precautions remained e ssential, as certain bacteria were not controlled by HEWL.