Open AccessInhibition of Secretion of Staphylococcal Alph Toxin by Cerulenin
Author(s) -
Farangis Saleh,
John H. Freer
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
journal of medical microbiology/journal of medical microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.91
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1473-5644
pISSN - 0022-2615
DOI - 10.1099/00222615-18-2-205
Subject(s) - cerulenin , toxin , secretion , biochemistry , staphylococcus aureus , fatty acid synthesis , biology , extracellular , antibiotics , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , fatty acid , bacteria , fatty acid synthase , genetics
Secretion of alpha toxin by Staphylococcus aureus strain Wood 46 was preferentially inhibited by cerulenin, an antibiotic that stops fatty-acid synthesis by inhibiting beta-keto acyl acyl carrier-protein synthetase. At the concentrations used, cerulenin had a negligible effect on cell growth and total protein synthesis, but reduced lipid synthesis by 50%. Extracellular and membrane-associated alpha toxin was absent in cultures treated with cerulenin, but toxin formation was resumed after either removal of the antibiotic or addition of exogenous fatty acids. The apparent absence of toxin precursor in membranes of inhibited cells favours inhibition at an earlier stage in toxin synthesis.