Peculiarities of Growth and Morphological Differentiation of Acidophilic and Neutrophilic Soil Streptomycetes

Acidophilic actinomycetes are shown to possess a special mechanism of adaptation to low pH conditions, which shows up in their ability to grow faster on acidified than on neutral media and to adjust the pH of the medium to a level favorable for the formation of aerial mycelium and spores. On nutrient media with pH below 5, neutrophilic actinomycetes either fail to grow or grow much slower than on neutral media; they do not alkalize the medium and do not form aerial mycelium.