A Method for Separating Aerial and Substrate Mycelia in Streptomycetes

The separation of aerial and substrate hyphae is difficult because of the small height of the mycelia and biochemical differences are therefore little known. In the method described aerial hyphae of streptomycetes grew through a thin synthetic silk fabric, spread over the surface of a solid medium. They could thus be separated from the substrate hyphae, which were collected after liquefaction of the medium. The amino acid and sugar content of hydrolysates of mycelia and cell walls from aerial and substrate hyphae was analyzed fluorimetrically by TLC.