Abstract
Intact cells of actinomycin-permeable mutants of Escherichia coli could be infected with urea-disrupted phage T4 (designated as T4π). The parental strains and the revertants, which are impermeable to actinomycin, were not susceptible to T4π unless they had been treated with agents which altered their permeability. The permeable mutants developed competence for π infection during the growth cycle; cells in the early stationary phase produced 10- to 100-fold more plaques on plating with T4π than did exponentially growing cells. Colistin (polymyxin E) was effective in converting noncompetent cells of either permeable or nonpermeable strains to the competent state. Treatment with lysozyme resulted in a considerable increase in susceptibility to T4π of permeable mutants but not of nonpermeable cells. It appears that development of competence for π infection is mainly due to alterations in the permeability barriers of the cell.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Anagnostopoulos C., Spizizen J. REQUIREMENTS FOR TRANSFORMATION IN BACILLUS SUBTILIS. J Bacteriol. 1961 May;81(5):741–746. doi: 10.1128/jb.81.5.741-746.1961. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Fraser D., Mahler H. R., Shug A. L., Thomas C. A. THE INFECTION OF SUB-CELLULAR ESCHERICHIA COLI, STRAIN B, WITH A DNA PREPARATION FROM T2 BACTERIOPHAGE. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1957 Nov 15;43(11):939–947. doi: 10.1073/pnas.43.11.939. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- NEWTON B. A. The properties and mode of action of the polymyxins. Bacteriol Rev. 1956 Mar;20(1):14–27. doi: 10.1128/br.20.1.14-27.1956. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Nakajima K., Kawamata J. Effect of colistin on actinomycin sensitivity of Escherichia coli. Biken J. 1965 Jun;8(2):115–118. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Nakajima K., Kawamata J. Studies on the mechanism of action of colistin. II. Alteration of permeability of Escherichia coli by colistin. Biken J. 1965 Dec;8(4):233–239. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- REPASKE R. Lysis of gram-negative organisms and the role of versene. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1958 Nov;30(2):225–232. doi: 10.1016/0006-3002(58)90044-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- SEKIGUCHI M., TAKETO A., TAKAGI Y. An infective deoxyribonucleic acid from bacteriophage phi-X174. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1960 Dec 4;45:199–200. doi: 10.1016/0006-3002(60)91443-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Sekiguchi M., Iida S. Mutants of Escherichia coli permeable to actinomycin. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1967 Dec;58(6):2315–2320. doi: 10.1073/pnas.58.6.2315. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Spizizen J. INFECTION OF PROTOPLASTS BY DISRUPTED T2 VIRUS. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1957 Aug 15;43(8):694–701. doi: 10.1073/pnas.43.8.694. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Taketo A., Kuno S. Sensitivity of Escherichia coli to viral nucleic acid. II. Development of competence in Escherichia coli CT during growth in a hypertonic medium. J Biochem. 1969 Mar;65(3):369–373. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.jbchem.a129023. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]