Protoplast Lysis and Inhibition of Growth of Bacillus Licheniformis by Bacitracin.

Snoke, John E. (University of California, Los Angeles), and Neal Cornell. Protoplast lysis and inhibition of growth of Bacillus licheniformis by bacitracin. J. Bacteriol. 89:415-240. 1965.-The growth of Bacillus licheniformis is inhibited by bacitracin, the antibiotic which the organism itself produces. The effect of the antibiotic is confined to the early growth phase of the organism. Bacitracin will produce a rapid lysis of protoplasts of B. licheniformis and Micrococcus lysodeikticus. The lytic process requires cadmium or zinc ions, and the rate and extent of lysis depends upon the amount of bacitracin and metal ion added. Although B. licheniformis and M. lysodeikticus differ markedly in their sensitivity to bacitracin, the protoplasts from these two organisms are equally susceptible to lysis by the antibiotic.