Abstract
A bacterium which utilizes benzylpenicillin as carbon, nitrogen and energy source was isolated from a lake sediment. The organism was identified as a strain of Pseudomonas fluorescens with a GC content of 59.71 Mol %. After growth of the organism on a mineral salts medium containing benzylpenicillin, the derivatives benzylpenicilloic acid, benzylpenilloic acid and benzylpenicillenic acid were found in culture media. There was no indication that the phenylacetate side chain of benzylpenicillin is decomposed. In uninoculated culture media benzylpenicillin, benzylpenicilloic acid and benzylpenicillenic acid were demonstrable. The following compounds were found to be absent from inoculated or uninoculated culture fluids: d-penicillamine, l-valine, l-cysteine, benzylpenillic acid and 6-aminopenicillanic acid. The organism possesses penicillinase. Penicillin acylase was not demonstrable. The reaction product of penicillinase, benzylpenicilloic acid, supports only little growth. There is no growth on 6-aminopenicillanic acid with or without NH4Cl. Relatively little growth occurs on 6-aminopenicillanic acid in the presence of phenylacetic acid.
The data indicate that the nucleus of the benzylpenicillin molecule is utilized as carbon, nitrogen and energy source. During growth a part of the substrate is destroyed into scarcely usable benzylpenicilloic acid; hereby the antibiotic is detoxified.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- TLC:
-
thin-layer chromatography
- DNPH:
-
2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine
References
Blaha, J. M., Knevel, A. M., Hem, S. L.: High-pressure liquid chromatographic analysis of penicillin G potassium and its degradation products. J. Pharm. Sci. 64, 1384–1386 (1975)
Buchanan, R. E., Gibbons, N. E.: Bergey's manual of determinative bacteriology, 8th ed. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins 1974
Clarke, H. T., Johnson, J. R., Robinson, R.: The chemistry of penicillin. Princeton: University Press 1949
Ford, J. H.: Hydroxylamine method of determining penicillins. Ind. Eng. Chem., Anal. Ed. 19, 1004–1006 (1947)
Hugh, R., Leifson, E.: The taxonomic significance of fermentative versus oxidative metabolism of carbohydrates by various gramnegative bacteria. J. Bacteriol. 66, 24–26 (1953)
Kameda, Y., Kimura, Y., Toyoura, E., Omori, T.: A method for isolating bacteria capable of producing 6-aminopenicillanic acid from benzylpenicillin. Nature 191, 1122–1123 (1961)
Mandel, M., Marmur, J.: Use of UV absorbance temperature profile for determining the guanine plus cytosine content of DNA. In: Methods of enzymology, Vol. 12B, pp. 195–206. New York-London: Academic Press 1968
Marmur, J.: A procedure for the isolation of deoxyribonucleic acid from microorganisms. J. Mol. Biol. 3, 208–218 (1961)
Pruess, D. L., Johnson, M. J.: Enzymatic deacylation of 35S-benzylpenicillin. J. Bacteriol. 90, 380–383 (1965)
Skerman, V. B. D.: Abstracts of microbiological methods, pp. 735. New York-London-Sydney-Toronto: Wiley 1969
Stahl, E.: Dünnschicht-Chromatographie. Berlin-Heidelberg-New-York: Springer 1967
Stanier, R. Y., Palleroni, N. J., Doudoroff, M.: The aerobic pseudomonads: a taxonomic study. J. Gen. Microbiol. 43, 159–271 (1966)
Vandamme, E. J., Voets, J. P.: Separation and detection of degradation products of penicillins and cephalosporins by means of thin-layer chromatography. J. Chromatogr. 71, 141–148 (1972)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Johnsen, J. Utilization of benzylpenicillin as carbon, nitrogen and energy source by a Pseudomonas fluorescens strain. Arch. Microbiol. 115, 271–275 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00446452
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00446452