THE GROWTH OF BACILLUS SUBTILIS IN MEDIA CONTAINING CHETOMIN, SPORIDESMIN, AND GLIOTOXIN

Abstract

Sporidesmin, gliotoxin, and chetomin increase the lag phase of growth of Bacillus subtilis. By daily subculture of the organism in media that contained one of the antibiotics in sufficient concentration to increase the lag phase of growth by 300%, organisms were obtained whose lag phase of growth was the same as that of the parent strain (HLX 373). Repetition of this process has made it possible to obtain cultures which have a lag phase of growth of 300 ± 20 min in the presence of chetomin (0.15 μg/ml), gliotoxin (3.0 μg/ml), or sporidesmin (30 μg/ml). The culture which could grow in the presence of gliotoxin lost this ability on subcultivation in the absence of the antibiotic. Sufficient cross resistance was shown to indicate the possibility that these three antibiotics had a similar mode of action.