A strain with high poly-gamma-glutamic acid (gamma-PGA) production was isolated from fermented bean curd, a traditional Chinese food. The strain was named Bacillus subtilis ZJU-7 according to 16s rDNA sequencing and its taxonomic characters. The culture conditions for gamma-PGA production were evaluated. The most suitable carbon and nitrogen sources were sucrose and tryptone, respectively. ExogenoUS L-glutamic acid was necessary for gamma-PGA production, and the production of gamma-PGA increased on the addition Of L-glutamic acid to the medium. In the medium containing 60 g/L of sucrose, 60 g/L of tryptone, 80 g/L Of L-glutamic acid, and 10 g/L of NaCl, the yield of gamma-PGA reached 54.4 g/L after cultivation at 37 degrees C for 24 h, which was the highest,I-PGA production compared with values reported in the literature. The average molecular mass of gamma-PGA produced was about 1.24 x 10(6) Daltons. B. subtilis ZJU-7 is genetically stable and can synthesize levan instead of gamma-PGA without the addition Of L-glutamic acid to the medium.