Manganese and antibiotic biosynthesis. II. Cellular levels of manganese during the transition to patulin production in Penicillium urticae.

The radionuclide 54MnCl2 was used to examine the cellular manganese content of submerged cultures of Penicillium urticae NRRL 2159A. Liquid-scintillation spectroscopy allowed sensitive detection of isotopic manganese in both normally supplemented and manganese-deficient cultures. The cellular manganese content in supplemented cultures showed three distinct phases, including a period of uptake that coincided with the time of transition to antibiotic biosynthesis. Such an uptake was not seen for manganese-deficient cultures, but addition of normal quantities of unlabelled manganese to the media appeared to stimulate uptake. Preliminary characterization shows this manganese uptake is not inhibited by other metal ions, does not require metabolic energy or a protein component, but is disrupted by changes in incubation temperature. The significance of these observations is discussed in the light of recent work on the requirement for manganese for antibiotic biosynthesis in this organism.