Ability of casamino acids to support gellan production by Sphingomonas paucimobilis ATCC 31461

The ability of casamino acids and vitamin-assay casamino acids to support gellan production by Sphingomonas paucimobilis ATCC 31461 was examined in a medium containing glucose or corn syrup as the carbon source relative to yeast extract supplementation. When glucose or corn syrup served as the carbon source, the presence of yeast extract in the growth medium stimulated gellan production by strain ATCC 31461 on casamino acids. Using vitamin-assay casamino acids as the nitrogen source, the addition of vitamins lowered gellan synthesis by glucose-grown cells regardless of yeast extract supplementation while gellan elaboration by corn syrup-grown strain ATCC 31461 cells could only be increased by supplementing vitamins into medium lacking yeast extract. Independent of carbon source, the absence of yeast extract in the medium reduced biomass production. Biomass production by the strain grown on either carbon source was increased by supplementing vitamins in the medium containing yeast extract.