Stimulative Vaporization of Phenyl-mercuric Acetate by Mercury-resistant Bacteria

Abstract

PHENYLMERCURIC acetate (PMA) has been widely used as a fungicide and as a disinfectant. It is well known that the antibacterial action of mercuric compounds results chiefly from their interference with essential sulphydryl groups of organisms. There are, however, reports that some micro-organisms are resistant to mercuric compounds. Russell¹ showed that a mercury-resistant strain of Penicillium roqueforti Thom. was able to absorb a large amount of mercury from nutrient media containing PMA. Stutzenberger and Bennett² have shown that Staphylococcus aureus is more resistant to mercuric compounds in the presence of Escherichia coli which produces extracellular glutathione and hydrogen sulphide. This communication describes an experiment in which a large amount of PMA was absorbed by mercury-resistant bacteria. The PMA was located chiefly on the bacterial surface and it was biologically stimulated to cause vaporization there.