Penicillin: Effect on Sodium and Potassium Transport in Bacterial and Protoplast Forms of Streptococcus faecalis
John Z. Montgomerie 1,
Clarence S. Potter 1,
George M. Kalmanson 1, and
Lucien B. Guze 1
1 Research and the Medical Service (Wadsworth Hospital), Veterans Administration Center, Los Angeles, California 90073, and Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
Streptococcus faecalis, incubated in osmotically stabiliz medium in the presence of 1000 units of penicillin per milliliter, accumulated rather than extruded sodium; they accumulated much less potassium than control cells did. These changes were not due to binding of sodium by cell-wall fragments of cells treated with penicillin. Because penicillin had no effect on cation concentrations in stable protoplasts and nongrowing bacterial cells, this effect appeared to be related to the production of the penicillin-induced lesions of the cell wall.
