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Pleiotropic consequences of mutations towards antibiotic-hypersensitivity in Serratia marcescens

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Abstract

Various mutants (oxa s) were isolated from Serratia marcescens SM-6 by selecting for hypersensitivity towards oxacillin. All mutants found are highly pleiotropic and able to yield spontaneous revertants which behave like the wild-type. Mutant W 1421 mostly studied shows the following phenotypic properties not found in the wild-type: (1) The growth is hypersensitive to various antibiotics, detergents and dyes which differ remarkably in their chemical structure and antibacterial action-mechanism, (2) the cells can be easily solubilized by 0.05% Sodium-dodecylsulfate, (3) the cells allow the adsorption of the roughmutant specific Salmonella phage 6SR, (4) strong cellular binding of crystal violet, (5) agglutination of the cells in 0.3% auramin solution and (6) reduced formation of red pigment. Strain W 1421 is assumed to be a lipopolysaccharide-defective mutant. The outer membrane of mutant W 1421 analyzed by Sodiumdodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis possesses a single protein less than that of the wild-type. Mutant W 1421 is further characterized by its low exolipase activity; exoprotease and exonuclease activities are as in the wild-type. This specific exoenzyme deficiency can be overcome either by backmutation to oxacillin-resistance or by growing mutant W 1421 in a medium supplemented with certain non-metabolizable polysaccharides, e.g. glycogen or pectin B. Both polysaccharides increase the exolipase activity of the wild-type too.

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Abbreviations

amp:

ampicillin

LPS:

lipopolysaccharide

MIC:

minimal inhibitory concentration

NB:

nutrient broth

oxa:

oxacillin

str:

streptomycin

TBY:

tryptone broth with yeast extract

SDS:

sodium-dodecylsulfate

OD:

optical density

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lehrstuhl für Biologie der Mikroorganismen, Ruhr-Universität, D-4630, Bochum, Germany

    U. Winkler, K. B. Heller & B. Folle

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  1. U. Winkler
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  2. K. B. Heller
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  3. B. Folle
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This paper is dedicated to Prof. Dr. R. W. Kaplan, University of Frankfurt/M., on the occasion of his 65th birthday

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Winkler, U., Heller, K.B. & Folle, B. Pleiotropic consequences of mutations towards antibiotic-hypersensitivity in Serratia marcescens . Arch. Microbiol. 116, 259–268 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00417849

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00417849

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