Nalidixic Acid and the Metabolism of Escherichia coli
- 1 December 1970
- journal article
- Published by American Society for Microbiology in Journal of Bacteriology
- Vol. 104 (3), 1168-1175
- https://doi.org/10.1128/jb.104.3.1168-1175.1970
Abstract
Nalidixic acid (NAL) is bactericidal for E. coli B. Synthesis of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), ribonucleic acid and protein was necessary to initiate the lethal effect, but only protein synthesis was necessary to sustain it. NAL inhibited DNA synthesis specifically, but this inhibition occurred even under conditions that were not lethal to the bacteria. In contrast to other inhibitors of DNA synthesis, NAL did not cause the solubilization of cellular DNA even when bacteria were exposed to it for 2 hr. A bacterial mutant deficient in DNA polymerase was much more sensitive to the lethal action of NAL than its parent strain. Moreover, inhibition of protein synthesis did not protect this mutant from NAL-induced killing. NAL inhibited neither DNA polymerase, nor thymidine or thymidylate kinases. The data are interpretated as suggesting that NAL altered the structure of DNA or a protein attached to nascent DNA and that this lesion can be partially repaired by DNA polymerase.Keywords
This publication has 35 references indexed in Scilit:
- Isolation of an E. coli Strain with a Mutation affecting DNA PolymeraseNature, 1969
- Studies with hydroxyurea VI. Effects of hydroxyurea on the metabolism of sensitive and resistant strains of Escherichia coliBiochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Nucleic Acids and Protein Synthesis, 1967
- Regulation of chromosome replication in Escherichia coli: a comparison of the effects of phenethyl alcohol treatment with those of amino acid starvationJournal of Molecular Biology, 1966
- In vivo Effect of Nalidixic Acid (NegGram) on the DNA of Human Diploid Cells in Tissue Culture.Experimental Biology and Medicine, 1965
- Inducible phage of Escherichia coli 15Virology, 1965
- Evidence for two distinct aspects of the mechanism regulating chromosome replication in Escherichia coliJournal of Molecular Biology, 1964
- Induction of replication by thymine starvation at the chromosome origin in Escherichia coliJournal of Molecular Biology, 1964
- Alteration in deoxyribonucleic acid synthesizing capacity in bacteria: An in vivo - in vitro studyBiochimica et Biophysica Acta, 1962
- The effect of streptomycin on potassium flux in Escherichia coliBiochimica et Biophysica Acta, 1961
- Inhibition of orotidylic acid decarboxylase, a primary site of carcinostasis by 6-azauracilBiochimica et Biophysica Acta, 1958