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. 1977 Jun;130(3):1010–1016. doi: 10.1128/jb.130.3.1010-1016.1977

Oxygen-dependent inactivation of gramicidin S synthetase in Bacillus brevis.

T E Friebel, A L Demain
PMCID: PMC235321  PMID: 68033

Abstract

Incorporation of L-[14C]ornithine into gramicidin S by crude, unfractionated lysozyme extracts of Bacillus brevis ATCC 9999 was shown to represent the activity of the gramicidin synthetase complex. Frozen-thawed cells were the source of active extracts, but when cells were shaken in air at 37 degrees C, they rapidly lost activity in a first-order reaction with a half-life of 13 min. Protease inhibitors and inhibitors of energy metabolism had no effect on the inactivation process in frozen-thawed cells. Stabilization was achieved when the cells were shaken in nitrogen or helium instead of air. The addition of dithiothreitol produced a moderate degree of stabilization. The L-ornithine- and D-phenylalanine-activating activities of the gramicidin S synthetase complex were also lost during aeration of the cells. Crude cell-free extracts also lost activity when they were shaken in oxygen, but, in this case, inactivation was slower (half-life of 80 min). Nitrogen also stabilized these cell-free extracts.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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