High Temperature Induced Antibiotic Sensitivity in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Abstract
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which is resistant to a wide variety of antibiotics, becomes sensitive to several of these antibiotics when grown and tested at 46 deg C. Cell wall antibiotics such as pencillin-G and ampicillin are only effective when added to cells grown at 46 deg C prior to a temperature shift to 37 deg C. Antibiotics which must penetrate the cytoplasmic membrane to express their inhibiting action present a pattern different than those which are active against the outer cell wall. In order that these compounds be effective, the permeability of the cytoplasmic membrane must be further altered with agents such as EDTA which allows the penetration of actinomycin-D. Inhibitors of protein synthesis, streptomycin and chloramphenicol, have increased access to their sites of action cells grown at 37 deg C and the lipopolysaccharide aggregates are of large molecular size in cells grown at 46 deg C. It is concluded that growth at 46 deg C affects the permeability properties of the outer cell wall more than the permeability properties of the cytoplasmic membrane and that this is due, in part, to the selective release of lipopolysaccharide or lipopolysaccharide-protein complexes at elevated growth temperatures.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1984
- Accession Number
- ADA146252
Entities
People
- A. R. Bhatti
- C. Stobo
- J. M. Ingram
- K. Kumar
Organizations
- Defence Research and Development Canada