Improved Microbial Production of Colominic Acid, a Homopolymer of N-Acetylneuraminic Acid

A culture medium has been devised for producing colominic acid in improved yields. Major improvements were obtained by using sorbitol as a source of carbon, by adding phosphate in high concentrations, and by supplementing a limited amount of yeast extract. E. coli O 16: Kl: HNM produced approximately 3000 µg/ml of colominic acid on cultivation at 37°C for 46 hr with a liquid medium consisting of sorbitol (2.0%), (NH4)2SO4 (0.5%), K2HPO4 (1.4%), MgSO4·7H2O (0.05%), and yeast extract (0.05%).Isolation and purification by deproteinization with ammonium sulfate, precipitation with ethanol, and by column chromatography on anion exchange resins resulted in a pure colominic acid preparation devoid of internal ester linkages.In producing colominic acid, strains forming S-type colonies were more active than those forming R-type colonies.