Bioautographic Technique for a Rapid Survey of Microbial Populations for the Production of Antibiotics and Other Metabolites

A method is described for the detection of microorganisms capable of producing antibiotics or other metabolites. The microbial population under study was bioautographed against any desired indicator organism. This was easily accomplished by lifting the entire agar layer out of a petri dish on which the microbial population was grown and transferring it to an agar surface seeded with an indicator organism. The use of this technique in the search for metabolites other than antibiotics is pointed out. The advantages of the method, over previously reported methods, are discussed.