Prospects for genetic intervention in man.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to B D Davis.
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Streptomycin induces breakdown of the completed 70S initiation complex on ribosomes of Escherichia coli, but it does not interfere with any step in the formation of the complex. Moreover, it does not appear to interact with the ribosome in any special way during initiation, since the kinetics of breakdown are the same whether streptomycin is added before formation of the initiation complex, or after its completion, or (as previously observed) after formation of a polypeptide. fMet-tRNA is released as such, without chain elongation; it is released from a puromycin-reactive ("P") site. Streptomycin thus appears to distort not only the A site of the ribosome (as suggested earlier) but also the P site.
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Antibiotics that interfere reversibly with various aspects of ribosomal function (chloramphenicol, tetracycline, erythromycin, and spectinomycin) are shown to antagonize, at barely inhibitory concentrations, the inhibitory effect of low concentrations of streptomycin (SM) on the growth of Escherichia coli. Paradoxically, these compounds can also replace SM in supporting the growth of conditionally SM-dependent mutants. Chloramphenicol produced about as much phenotypic suppression as SM in SM-sensitive strains, but less than that attainable with high concentrations of SM in resistant strains. The antagonism to SM inhibition and the phenotypic suppression appear to be specific for those growth inhibitors that act on the ribosome. Since inhibitors of the 50S subunit of the ribosome (chloramphenicol, erythromycin) are as active as inhibitors of the 30S subunit, it is suggested that phenotypic suppression by borderline concentrations of ribosome inhibitors does not necessarily depend on an alteration of the recognition region of the ribosome. Alternatively, partial inhibition of the ribosomes might change the environment in a way that would influence the frequency of misreading. Phenotypic suppression by a low concentration of SM as well as by chloramphenicol was found to depend on the presence of a trace of the required growth factor.
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The mechanism of action of novobiocin was studied in various strains of Escherichia coli. In all strains tested except mutants of strain ML, the drug immediately and reversibly inhibited cell division, and later slowed cell growth. The previously described impairment of membrane integrity, degradation of ribonucleic acid (RNA), and associated bactericidal effect were found to be peculiar to ML strains. The earliest and greatest effect in all strains was an inhibition of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis; RNA synthesis was inhibited to a lesser extent, and cell wall and protein synthesis were affected later. The inhibition of nucleic acid synthesis was accompanied by an approximately threefold accumulation of all eight nucleoside triphosphates. Since novobiocin does not inhibit nucleoside triphosphate synthesis, degrade DNA, or immediately affect energy metabolism, it must inhibit the synthesis of DNA and RNA by direct action on template-polymerase complexes.
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Polysomes can be extracted from Escherichia coli by freezing and thawing in the presence of lysozyme, followed by treatment with sodium deoxycholate. The method is simple and convenient; the yields consistently high.