Biomedical subjects

J B Cornett

Publications and source records attributed to J B Cornett.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1979

Morphological and physiological study of autolytic-defective Streptococcus faecium strains.

Three autolytic-defective mutants of Streptococcus faecium (S. faecalis ATCC 9790) were isolated. All three autolytic-defective mutants exhibited the following properties relative to the parental strain: (i) slower growth rates, especially in chemically defined medium; (ii) decreased rates of cellular autolysis and increased survival after exposure to antibiotics which block cell wall biosynthesis; (iii) decreased rates of cellular autolysis when treated with detergents, suspended in autolysis buffers, or grown in medium lacking essential cell wall precursors; (iv) a reduction in the total level of cellular autolytic enzyme (active plus latent forms of the enzyme); (v) an increased ratio of latent to active forms of autolysin; and (vi) increased levels of both cellular lipoteichoic acid and lipids.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMed1979

Release of autolytic enzyme from Streptococcus, faecium cell walls by treatment with dilute alkali.

The autolytic enzyme (endo-beta-1,4-N-acetylmuramoylhydrolase) of Streptococcus faecium (S. faecalis ATCC 9790) was released in a soluble form from insoluble cell wall-autolytic enzyme complexes by treatment with dilute NaOH at 0 degree C. Treatment of cell wall-enzyme complexes, obtained from either exponential- or stationary-phase cells, with 0.008 to 0.01 N NaOH gave maximum yields of autolytic enzyme activity. At a fixed concentration of NaOH, the yield of autolysin increased with increasing wall densities and was accompanied by the release of methylpentose and phosphorus in amounts proportional to the autolysin. Since extraction of wall-enzyme complexes with 4.5 M LiCl at 0 degree C also removed methylpentose and phosphorus, release of enzyme with NaOH did not appear to result from hydrolysis of covalent linkages. The autolytic enzyme activity released from intact cells, or cell walls, was predominantly in the later (proteinase activable) form which could be activated by trypsin or a proteinase present in commerical bovine plasma albumin.

Cell Wall↗

PubMed1978

Autolytic defective mutant of Streptococcus faecalis.

Properties of a variant of Streptococcus faecalis ATCC 9790 with defective cellular autolysis are described. The mutant strain was selected as a survivor from a mutagenized cell population simultaneously challenged with two antibiotics which inhibit cell wall biosynthesis, penicillin G and cycloserine. Compared to the parental strain, the mutant strain exhibited: (i) a thermosensitive pattern of cellular autolysis; (ii) an autolytic enzyme activity that had only a slightly increased thermolability when tested in solution in the absence of wall substrate; and (iii) an isolated autolysin that had hydrolytic activity on isolated S. faecalis wall substrate indistinguishable from that of the parental strain, but that was inactive when tested on walls of Micrococcus lysodeikticus as a substrate. These data indicate an alteration in the substrate specificity of the autolytic enzyme of the mutant which appears to result from the synthesis of an altered form of autolytic enzyme.

Bacteriolysis↗

PubMed1978

Cellular lysis of Streptococcus faecalis induced with triton X-100.

Lysis of exponential-phase cultures of Streptococcus faecalis ATCC 9790 was induced by exposure to both anionic (sodium dodecyl sulfate) and nonionic (Triton X-100) surfactants. Lysis in response to sodium dodecyl sulfate was effective only over a limited range of concentrations, whereas Triton X-100-induced lysis occurred over a broad range of surfactant concentrations. The data presented indicate that the bacteriolytic response of growing cells to Triton X-100: (i) was related to the ratio of surfactant to cells and not the surfactant concentration per se; (ii) required the expression of the cellular autolytic enzyme system; and (iii) was most likely due to an effect of the surfactant on components of the autolytic system that are associated with the cytoplasmic membrane. The possibility that Triton X-100 may induce cellular lysis by releasing a lipid inhibitor of the cellular autolytic enzyme is discussed.

Bacterial Proteins↗

PubMed1975

Bacteriophage SPO1-induced macromolecular synthesis in minicells of Bacillus subtilis.

SPO1 bacteriophage injects its DNA into minicells produced by Bacillus subtilis CU403 divIVB1. The injected DNA is partially degraded to small trichloracetic acid-precipitable material and trichloroacetic acid-soluble material. The injected DNA is not replicated; however, it serves as a template for RNA and protein synthesis. The RNA produced specifically hybridizes to SPO1 DNA, and the amount of RNA hybridized can be reduced by competition with RNA isolated at all stages of the phage cycle from infected nucleate cells of the B. subtilis CU403 divIVB1. An unrelated phage, SPP1, also induces phage-specific RNA in infected minicells. Translation occurs in SPO1-infected minicells resulting in at least eight proteins which have been separated by gel electrophoresis, and two of these proteins have mobilities similar to proteins found only in infected B. subtilis CU403 divIVB1 nucleate cells. A large proportion of the polypeptide material synthesized in infected minicells is very small and heterogeneous in size.

Bacillus subtilis↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Does penicillin kill bacteria?.

The thesis is presented that the bactericidal action of penicillin and of other inhibitors of cell wall peptidoglycan synthesis, such as vancomycin and cycloserine, is secondary or tertiary to their ability inhibit specific reactions in the assembly of an osmotically protective cell wall. Examples are given of the inhibition of these reactions, which results in inhibition of cell growth (bacteriostatic action) in the absence of either cellular lysis or rapid loss of viability. Thus, in some instances, inhibitory concentrations of these drugs are, in effect, sublethal; this is true, for example, for Streptococcus mutans, a species of bacteria that is part of the normal flora of the oropharynx and that can cause subacute bacterial endocarditis. On the other hand, the damaging effects of the subminimal inhibitory concentrations of penicillin G on Streptococcus faecalis, a species with an active autolytic enzyme system, can be uncovered and converted to a lytic (and lethal) response by partial inhibition of fatty acid synthesis with low concentrations of cerulenin. Some theoretical and practical implications of the occurrence and inhibition of these secondary lethal consequences are discussed.

Bacteria↗