SOLUBILIZATION OF THE CONJUGATION INHIBITOR FROM ESCHERICHIA COLI CELL WALL

Schwartz, Gabriel H. (National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases, Bethesda, Md.), Donald Eiler, and Milton Kern. Solubilization of the conjugation inhibitor from Escherichia coli cell wall. J. Bacteriol. 89:89-94. 1965.-Conjugation between F(-) and HfrC strains of Escherichia coli is inhibited by the presence of cell wall derived from either strain. The inhibitor can be solubilized from such cell walls or whole cells by treatment with periodate. The soluble material is relatively acid-labile and alkali-stable, nondialyzable, nonsedimentable at 100,000 x g (1 hr), partially sedimented after 3 hr at 100,000 x g, sensitive to small changes in ionic strength, neutralized by cationic reagents, and is insensitive to proteinases, nucleases, lipases, and carbohydrases. The soluble inhibitor derived from male and female cells is indistinguishable by all the criteria tested.