Protamine and Polyarginine Bacteriolysis. Similarities in Its Mechanism with Chromatin DNA Picnosis

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Abstract
Protamine and polyarginine had bacteriolytic effects indicating their primary sites of action as wall components and showing genetically determined bacterial diversity. Shake-incubation was required in producing cell-lysis. Studies on Bacillus subtilis revealed a high polycation multiplicity per cell in lytic event displaying multi-hit lysing kinetics; bacteriolysis was inhibited by trypsin, Pronase, purified polyanionic wall polysaccharide, and by dissociative actions of salt hypermolarities used in isolation of nucleic acids. The inactivation of polycation lytic abilities during bacteriolysis was accompanied by modifications in electrophoretic running of protamine and polyarginine. The mechanism of cell-lysis is suggested as the multiple zonal surface condensations of polyanionic wall components by basic polypeptides, probably similar to chromatin DNA picnosis. This analogy is discussed.

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