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Mutual Relationship between Antibiotics and Resting Spores of Bacillus subtilis : Binding of Cyclic Polypeptide and Aminoglycoside Antibiotics to Spores and Their Inhibitory Effect on Outgrowth and Vegetative Growth
Author(s) -
Tochikubo Kunio,
Hayakawa Yoshiaki,
Kojima Kiyohide
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
microbiology and immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.664
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1348-0421
pISSN - 0385-5600
DOI - 10.1111/j.1348-0421.1981.tb00015.x
Subject(s) - spore , aminoglycoside , antibiotics , biology , polymyxin b , kanamycin , microbiology and biotechnology , bacillus subtilis , colistin , streptomycin , gramicidin , gramicidin s , biochemistry , polymyxin , sporogenesis , bacteria , genetics , membrane
Not only cyclic polypeptide antibiotics such as polymyxin B, colistin and gramicidin S but also aminoglycoside antibiotics such as streptomycin, kanamycin, gentamicin and kanamycin derivatives combined with the resting spores of Bacillus subtilis and inhibited outgrowth or vegetative growth after germination. All the antibiotics other than gramicidin S were released from the resting spores and their inhibitory action was reversed by the addition of Ca 2+ and Fe 3+ . As the above antibiotics have free amino (or guanidine) groups in common, it was assumed that such groups play an important role in binding of the antibiotics to the resting spores. Moreover, it was shown that protamine and poly‐l‐lysine were also bound to the resting spores and were released from them by Ca 2+ . On the other hand, free carboxyl groups had been demonstrated in the outermost surface of the resting spores in a previous study. Thus, we assume that the mode of binding of the antibiotics to the resting spores may be due to the formation of reinforced ionic bonds between amino (or guanidine) groups in the antibiotics and carboxyl groups on the spore surface.