Open AccessStudies on the Mode of Action of Nalidixic Acid
Author(s) -
Pedrini Antonia M.,
Geroldi Diego,
Siccardi Antonio,
Falaschi Arturo
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
european journal of biochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1432-1033
pISSN - 0014-2956
DOI - 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1972.tb01704.x
Subject(s) - nalidixic acid , biochemistry , dna polymerase , dna , biology , escherichia coli , bacillus subtilis , microbiology and biotechnology , dna polymerase ii , dna synthesis , dna ligase , dna clamp , bacteria , polymerase chain reaction , gene , genetics , reverse transcriptase
Nalidixic acid, a very specific inhibitor of bacterial DNA synthesis, has been studied for its action on purified enzymes acting on DNA and in subcellular DNA‐synthesizing systems. The drug does not inhibit the following enzymes: DNA polymerase I, endonuclease I, exonuclease I, II and III from Escherichia coli , polynucleotide‐ligase and DNA methyl‐transferase from T 4‐ infected E. coli , DNA polymerase from Bacillus subtilis. A significant inhibition of ATP‐dependent DNA synthesis is observed in cells of a strain of E. coli lacking DNA polymerase I after short treatments with toluene (2 min); longer treatments reduce the rate of synthesis and abolish its sensitivity to nalidixic acid. Equally insensitive are the ATP‐dependent DNA synthesizing systems bound to membrane fractions of E. coli and B. subtilis. The results suggest a mode of action through a still unidentified physiological component of the growing point apparatus, and supply a new criterion of physiological integrity of subcellular DNA‐synthesizing systems, namely their sensitivity to nalidixic acid.