Biologically Active Metabolic Products of the Mould Metarrhizium glutinosum S. Pope

Abstract

IN 1944 we obtained a culture of a Metarrhizium sp. from the United States Department of Agriculture, which had been described by Great-house, Klemme and Barker¹ as an active decomposer of cellulose, particularly suitable for in vitro assessment of textile preservative treatments. This fungus was afterwards described by Pope² as a new species, M. glutinosum. Our organism agrees with Pope's description. We have found that this mould, when grown on a variety of synthetic media, produces fungistatic culture filtrates. From cultures of this mould on Raulin Thorn medium, supplemented by 0.01 percent 'Difco' yeast extract, we have isolated a substance for which we propose the name 'glutinosin' in yields of the order of 15 mgm. per litre of culture filtrate.