THE MECHANISM OF ACTION OF STREPTOMYCIN AS REVEALED BY NORMAL AND ABNORMAL DIVISION IN STREPTOMYCIN-DEPENDENT SALMONELLAE

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Abstract
Under conditions of streptomycin starvation, streptomycin-dependent Salmonellae are inhibited in septa formation and grow into long filaments. Resupplementation with streptomycin results in synchronous division. If starvation is carried out on soft serum agar in the presence of penicillin, L colonies are formed. These depend on an agar-mediated multiplication process which does not require septation. L forms of the Sd strains dispense with 95% of the streptomycin supplement required for the growth of the bacillary form. Since most of the streptomycin requirement can be eliminated by bypassing septation, it is concluded that the requirement for streptomycin for septations is a primary one.