Allosamidin, a chitinase inhibitor produced by Streptomyces, acts as an inducer of chitinase production in its producing strain

Allosamidin is a chitinase inhibitor produced by Streptomyces. Allosamidin- producing Streptomyces is frequently found in soil. Allosamidin is a hydrop hilic compound, but is found only in mycelia of its producer, and exogenous allosamidin is adsorbed on mycelia of its producing strain. We found that exogenous addition of allosamidin to a culture medium with colloidal chitin as a sole carbon source can strongly accelerate the chitinase production b y an allosamidin-producing Streptomyces at low concentrations such as 1 muM . On the other hand, allosamidin depressed the chitinase activity in the cu lture of Streptomyces lividans, an allosamidin-nonproducing microbe. These results suggest that allosamidin has a physiological role in its producer a s an inducer of chitinase production, which may be useful for chitin utiliz ation by the producer in chitin-rich environment such as in soil.