HYDROXYUREA: A SPECIFIC INHIBITOR OF DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID SYNTHESIS.
Abstract
The report is concerned with the effects of hydroxyurea on Escherichia coli C600, a substrain of E. coli K12. The effectiveness of hydroxyurea on various macromolecular syntheses and process was measured by determining the concentration of hydroxyurea required to limit increases of these functions by 50% when compared to untreated control cultures. The data illustrated in Fig. I indicate that hydroxyurea has a bacteriostatic rather than a bactericidal effect. A concentration of 0.032 M hydroxyurea was sufficient to cause 50% reduction in the increase in number of viable bacteria. On the other hand, the increase in turbidity of the culture, which is an index of protein production, required more than 0.2 M hydroxyurea for similar inhibition. This difference in the amounts of hydroxyurea required for equal inhibition of growth and turbidity is clearly indicative of unbalanced growth. This is borne out by the data in Table I which show that the concentration of hydroxyurea required to inhibit DNA synthesis and DNA metabolism by 50% is identical to the concentration of hydroxyurea that is needed to cause a 50% reduction in bacterial multiplication. The inhibition of other processes required much higher levels of hydroxyurea.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 13, 1964
- Accession Number
- AD0612980
Entities
People
- Herbert S. Rosenkranz
- Jay A. Levy
Organizations
- Columbia University