RESUMO
The alpha-amylase enzyme synthesis was higher when M. thermophila D-14 (ATCC 48104) was grown in culture medium incorporated with starch or other carbohydrates containing maltose units. Maximum enzyme production was attained with 1% starch followed by a gradual decrease with increasing concentration. Marked decrease in alpha-amylase synthesis occurred with the addition of glucose to the culture medium and this decreasing activity was proportional to the concentration of glucose. The enzyme synthesis was resumed as soon as the glucose concentration fell below a critical level. The addition of cAMP did not eliminate the repressive activity of glucose. The findings suggest that extracellular alpha-amylase synthesis in M. thermophila D-14 was inducible and subject to catabolite repression.