The Effect of Metabolite Analogues on Growth of Bacillus anthracis in the Guinea pig and on the Formation of Virulence-determining Factors

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Abstract
SUMMARY: Several metabolite analogues have been tested for their effect on the growth of Bacillus anthracis and its ability to synthesize toxin and capsular material during the terminal bacteraemic stage of anthrax in the guinea pig. 8-Azaguanine, 8-azaxanthine and to a lesser degree, ethionine, α-amino-n-butyric acid and p-fluorophenylalanine inhibited the in vivo growth of B. anthracis, whilst 2-thiouracil and pyridine 3-sulphonic acid selectively inhibited toxin production. Inhibition of capsule formation was at no time convincingly demonstrated. The annulment of these inhibitions by mixture of the analogues with appropriate metabolites gives evidence that hypoxanthine, adenine, methionine, alanine, phenylalanine and tryptophan are involved in growth in vivo and pyrimidines and nicotinamide in toxin synthesis.