Abstract
CONVERSION of bacteria into L-forms involves changes in physiology as well as morphology. Comparing sensitivity to drugs of L-forms and bacteria, we are struck by the much higher resistance of the former to penicillin. Strains of L-forms of Proteus used in our laboratory are able to grow in the presence of 60,000 units penicillin/ml. On the other hand, they are more sensitive to streptomycin, chlortetracycline and chloramphenicol than are the bacterial forms. Tulasne and Minck1 found that stable L-forms of P. morganii were 8,000 times and unstable L-forms of P. vulgaris were 25,000 times more sensitive than the corresponding bacterial forms. Lederberg and St. Clair2 showed a fifty-fold decrease in resistance to streptomycin after converting Escherichia coli to the L-form. The authors suggest that “this can be viewed as the negation of the SR effect when the wall is stripped or a mutual reinforcement of penicillin and streptomycin in respect to another target”. They were inclined to accept the former interpretation. Horoszewicz and Horoszewicz3 noted the inhibitory action of streptomycin on the conversion of P. mirabilis to the L-form. In the presence of the antibiotic it was necessary to inoculate 1,800 times more bacteria to obtain the same number of L-colonies.
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References
Tulasne, R., and Minck, R., C.R. Soc. Biol., 146 (9–10), 178 (1952).
Lederberg, J., and St. Clair, J., J. Bact., 75, 143 (1958).
Horoszewicz, A., and Horoszewicz, J., Acta Microbiol. Polonica, 5, 9 (1956).
Lorkiewicz, Zb., Acta Microbiologica Polonica, 6, 3 (1957).
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LORKIEWICZ, Z., ZELAZNA, I. Mutations in L-Forms. Nature 182, 1619 (1958). https://doi.org/10.1038/1821619a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1821619a0
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