surface active peptides, processes for their production and the producing microorganisms

摘要

A novel type of biosurfactants having a high surface activity, as well as a microorganism for producing the surfactants is disclosed. The biosurfactants according to the present invention are represented by the formula IMAGE wherein radical R of the N-terminal acyl moiety represents a saturated or an unsaturated C5 - C15 alkyl radical; and wherein the C-terminal amino acid of the peptidyl moiety is linked by an ester bond to the alpha - or the beta -carbon atom of the N-terminal acyl group. The invention also relates to the functional equivalents of these compounds having individual amino acid residues added, substituted, or deleted without adversely affecting the biosurfactant activity of the compound. The present invention also provides Arthrobacter sp. No. 38 (FERM BP-4435).