Effect of Chloramphenicol on Protein and Nucleic Acid Synthesis by Shigella flexneri

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Abstract
SUMMARY: Resting organisms of Shigella flexneri 3 were able to synthesize protein and nucleic acids in a chemically defined medium. Protein synthesis was markedly inhibited while ribonucleic acid (RNA) synthesis was stimulated by low concentrations of chloramphenicol; deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis was inhibited slightly. Neither glycine, l-phenylalanine nor l-tyrosine annulled the action of the antibiotic. Inhibition of protein synthesis and stimulation of RNA synthesis in resting organisms of a chloramphenicol-resistant mutant of S. flexneri 3 was observed only in the presence of high concentrations of chloramphenicol. The results presented in this paper show that chloramphenicol suppresses the growth of S. flexneri 3 by interfering with the synthesis of protein. The stimulation of RNA synthesis suggests that chloramphenicol may exert its inhibitory action by promoting the formation of RNA with altered biological activity.

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