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. 1980 Mar;141(3):1122–1126. doi: 10.1128/jb.141.3.1122-1126.1980

Effects of fatty acids on lysis of Streptococcus faecalis.

D D Carson, L Daneo-Moore
PMCID: PMC293793  PMID: 6102557

Abstract

Palmitic, stearic, oleic, and linoleic acids at concentrations of 200 nmol/ml all inhibited autolysin activity 80% or more in whole cells or cell-free extracts. This concentration of the saturated fatty acids palmitic acid and stearic acid had little or no effect on the growth of whole cells or protoplasts. However, the unsaturated fatty acids oleic acid and linoleic acid induced lysis in both situations. This lytic effect is apparently not related to any uncoupling activity or inhibition of energy catabolism by unsaturated fatty acids. It is concluded that unsaturated fatty acids induce cell and protoplast lysis by acting as more potent membrane destabilizers than saturated fatty acids.

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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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