Comparison of killing of gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria by pure singlet oxygen

Gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria were found to display different sensitivities to pure singlet oxygen generated outside of cells. Killing curves for Salmonella typhimurium and Escherichia coli strains were indicative of multihit killing, whereas curves for Sarcina lutea, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus lactis, and Streptococcus faecalis exhibited single-hit kinetics. The S. typhimurium deep rough strain TA1975, which lacks nearly all of the cell wall lipopolysaccharide coat and manifests concomitant enhancement of penetration by some exogenous substances, responded to singlet oxygen with initially faster inactivation than did the S. typhimurium wild-type strain, although the maximum rates of killing appeared to be quite similar. The structure of the cell wall thus plays an important role in susceptibility to singlet oxygen. The outer membrane-lipopolysaccharide portion of the gram-negative cell wall initially protects the bacteria from extracellular singlet oxygen, although it may also serve as a source for secondary reaction products which accentuate the rates of cell killing. S. typhimurium and E. coli strains lacking the cellular antioxidant, glutathione, showed no difference from strains containing glutathione in response to the toxic effects of singlet oxygen. Strains of Sarcina lutea and Staphylococcus aureus that contained carotenoids, however, were far more resistant to singlet oxygen lethality than were both carotenoidless mutants of the same species and other gram-positive species lacking high levels of protective carotenoids.