FEMS Microbiology Letters 119 (1994) 95-98 © 1994 Federation of European Microbiological Societies 0378-1097/94/$07.00 Published by Elsevier 95 FEMSLE 05976 Excretion of butyraldehyde, isobutyraldehyde and valeraldehyde by Streptomyces cinnamonensis S. Pospi~il *, P. Sedmera, V. Havli~ek and V. P~ikrylov~t Institute of Microbiology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 142 20 Prague 4, Czech Republic (Received 3 February 1994; revision received 18 March 1994; accepted 19 March 1994) Abstract." Streptomyces cinnamonensis produces butyraldehyde, isobutyraldehyde and valeraldehyde in concentrations of 9-39/xg m1-1, with the average molar ratio being 22:33:45. These aldehydes, excreted into fermentation broth or agar, were derivatised with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine, isolated, and their structures were determined by 11-1, 13C NMR and mass spectrometry. The highest production of aldehydes was observed in surface cultivation on agar. Key words: Streptomyces cinnamonensis; Butyraldehyde; Isobutyraldehyde; Valeraldehyde; 2,4-Dinitrophenylhydrazone Introduction Streptomyces cinnamonensis is a producer of the polyether antibiotics monensins [1], oligoke- tides arising by condensation of activated acetate, propionate and butyrate [2]. During the investiga- tion of oxo-compounds related to putative pre- cursors of monensins, we have found that S. cinnarnonensis excretes a number of compounds reacting with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine to form coloured 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazones (DNPH). The most abundant group of DNPH derivatives was isolated and identified by NMR and MS as * Corresponding author. Tel: 42-2-4721151; Fax: 42-2- 4715743. DNPH of butyraldehyde, isobutyraldehyde and valeraldehyde. Aldehydes are metabolites excreted by some eukaryotes and lactic streptococci [3]. Clostridium acetobutylicum mutants producing butyraldehyde have been also reported [4]. Information about aldehyde production by streptomycetes is very scarce. Acetaldehyde was found to be produced by Streptomyces odorifer [5]. C1-C 4 aldehydes were detected by paper chromatography in fer- mentation broth of Actinomyces longissimus rarneus and Actinomyces fulvoviolaceus [6]. No quantitative data were reported in both cases. The objective of the present study was the derivatisation, isolation, and structure determina- tion of aldehydes excreted by different strains of S. cinnamonensis and quantification of their pro- duction under various conditions. SSD1 0378-1097(94)00122-8 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/femsle/article/119/1-2/95/587128 by guest on 13 September 2022