Cell envelope of Neisseria gonorrhoeae: phospholipase activity and its relationship to autolysis

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Abstract
The relationship between conditions which permit or inhibit cell lysis and those which promote phospholipid hydrolysis in N. gonorrhoeae was investigated. Suspension of exponential-phase gonococci in buffer in the absence of divalent cations resulted in autolysis but not in phospholipid hydrolysis. The addition of Ca2+ or Mg2+ to the buffer inhibited autolysis and markedly stimulated the hydrolysis of phosphatidylethanolamine. Incubation of cells in buffer at pH 6 inhibited autolysis and phospholipid hydrolysis.