[Composition of the regulators of bacterial autolysis]

This work was aimed at studying the composition of agents regulating bacterial autolysis and isolated from the lysate of Bacillus subtilis 402, B. subtilis R2 and Micrococcus lysodeikticus biomass by extraction with 5% TCA followed by precipitation from the extract with 5 volumes of isopropanol. Fractions activating bacterial autolysis and fractions inhibiting it were found in all of the preparations after separation on Acrylex P-60. Fractions with a molecular mass below 12,600 D activated the autolysis whereas fractions with a molecular mass above 18,400 D inhibited it. The activity of fractions inhibiting the autolysis decreased while that of fractions activating the autolysis increased in the regulating agents isolated from B. subtilis cultures with the aging of the latter. The capability of the fractions to activate the autolysis correlated with the content of amino groups and phosphate in them whereas the capacity to inhibit the autolysis correlated with the content of reducing sugars in the fractions. The preparation of the fraction which activated the autolysis from B. subtilis R2 contained 18 amino acids with the predominance of alanine, glutamic acid, lysine and phenylalanine. Apparently, the regulating properties of the preparations are created with the aid of teichoic acids as well as peptidoglycan and protein fragments associated with the acids.