The Discovery of Corynebacterium glutamicum and Birth of Amino Acid Fermentation Industry in Japan
Shigezo Udaka
from: Corynebacteria: Genomics and Molecular Biology (Edited by: Andreas Burkovski). Caister Academic Press, U.K. (2008)
Abstract
Amino acids were once prepared by decomposition of proteins and considered as precious natural products of limited availability. Nowadays, amino acids such as L-glutamate and L-lysine are produced in scale of million of tons by fermentation. The prosperity of amino acid fermentation industry started about half a century ago with my discovery of a glutamic acid-producing bacterium. This essay summarizes the story of the isolation of Corynebacterium glutamicum, the first approaches, the successful screening procedure and the prerequisites that were crucial for the discovery of this amino acid-producing bacterium read more ...
