THE MODE OF ACTION OF ANTIBIOTICS INVOLVING THE BACTERIAL CELL WALL.

It is nown that many antibiotics prevent bacterial growth by inhibiting the biosynthesis of bacterial cell walls. Thus, bacteria grown in the presence of penicillin form spherical protoplasts which are apparently whole cells without a rigid cell wall. This study has been aimed at elucidating the chemical structure of the cell wall of Bacillus anthracis and the relation of this structure to virulence and antibiotic action. The C-terminal amino acid of the peptide component of the cell walls of B. anthracis Weybridge strain has been shown to be alanine by hydrazinolysis methods on a micro scale. Micro and ultramicro scale methods for peptide analysis by hydrazinolysis and fluorodinitroaniline labelling have been developed using thin layer chromatography as an auxiliary tool. Author