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permits the continuous neutralization of the gluconic acid formed. With an improved nutrient medium and an organism able to tolerate the amount of boron necessary, it is possible to ferment 20, 25, and 30 per cent solutions of glucose in half the time previously reported. Under these conditions and with a process made semicontinuous by re-use of the mycelium, it is possible to ferment 25 per cent solutions of glucose to gluconic acid every 24 hours. This method is applicable to gluconic acid fermentations by cer tain bacteria as well as by fungi.

RECENTinterest in Z-sorbose arises from its use in the chemical synthesis of vitamin C (Z-ascorbic acid), since it is the configuratively correct starting material for the preparation of this important substance. The successful commercial production of d-sorbitol from glucose in the past few years has provided a ready source of this essential intermediate, but the biological conversion of d-sorbitol to Z-sorbose, the only practical method available, has been somewhat difficult to accomplish. This difficulty is chiefly due to inherent disadvantages of the surface type of fermentation process which has been used in all previous studies on this problem.

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