tryptone

{{Short description|Assortment of peptides}}

File:Rhizobium tropici strain BR816 on TY agar.JPG containing tryptone supporting growth of a micro-organism.]]

Tryptone is the assortment of peptides formed by the digestion of casein by the protease trypsin.{{cite journal|last1=Fraser|first1=Dean|last2=Powell|first2=Richard|title=The Kinetics of Trypsin Digestion|journal=The Journal of Biological Chemistry|date=1950 |volume=187 |issue=2 |pages=803–820 |doi=10.1016/S0021-9258(18)56227-X |pmid=14803465 |url=http://www.jbc.org/content/187/2/803.full.pdf|accessdate=28 July 2014 |doi-access=free }}

Tryptone is commonly used in microbiology to produce lysogeny broth (LB) for the growth of E. coli and other microorganisms.{{cite web|title=Indole Test|url=http://www.microbelibrary.org/component/resource/laboratory-test/3131-indole-test|publisher=American Society for Microbiology|date=8 Dec 2009|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207135644/http://www.microbelibrary.org/component/resource/laboratory-test/3131-indole-test|archivedate=7 December 2013}} It provides a source of amino acids for the growing bacteria. Tryptone is similar to casamino acids, both being digests of casein, but casamino acids can be produced by acid hydrolysis and typically only have free amino acids and few peptide chains; tryptone by contrast is the product of an incomplete enzymatic hydrolysis with some oligopeptides present.

Tryptone is also a component of some germination media used in plant propagation.Pierik, R. L. M., et al. (1988). [http://images.wikia.com/orchids/en/images/9/9a/Seed_germination_and_further_development_of_plantlets_of_Paphiopedilum_ciliolare_Pfitz._in_vitro.pdf Seed germination and further development of plantlets of Paphiopedilum ciliolare Pfitz. in vitro.] Scientia Horticulturae, 34(1), 139-153.