Effects of the yeast extract components pyrroloquinoline quinone and aspartic acid on vitamin B12 production in Klebsiella pneumoniae IFO 13541.

The production of vitamin B12 from carbohydrates, peptone, casamino acid, etc., by intestinal bacteria was investigated. Klebsiella pneumoniae IFO 13541 was the most efficient strain for vitamin B12 production, which depended exclusively on the concentration of yeast extract added to the medium. A concentrated solution of yeast extract (1 ml) was chromatographed on a Sephadex G-25 column (1 x 180 cm) and eluted with H2O (eighty fractions of 3 ml each were collected). It was found that fractions in which bacterial growth was most prevalent also exhibited the highest amount of vitamin production. The effectiveness of yeast extract was shown by the participation of pyrroloquinoline quinone and aspartic acid in the growth stimulation and in the vitamin B12 production in this strain.