Bacterial‐Protein Synthesis

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Bacterial protoplasts, treated with fusidic acid, have been used to examine the modes of action of various other antibiotics in vivo. This system, in which ribosomal function is severely impeded, is particularly useful for studying the actions of drugs which do not inhibit protein synthesis potently in vivo. One such drug is spectinomycin which is here shown to be an inhibitor of trans‐location; similar results were obtained with lincomycin and celesticetin. Althiomycin, conversely, was found to inhibit the peptidyl transferase reaction. Supplementary evidence for these conclusions was obtained by examining the effects of the drugs upon the isolated peptidyl transferase reaction in vivo and by studying their effects upon polyribosome stability. We conclude that lincomycin and celesticetin inhibit translocation only on those ribosomes which bear nascent peptides not exceeding a critical, but short, chain length.

This publication has 17 references indexed in Scilit: