[Actinomycin D resistance of gramicidin-resistant strains of Staphylococcus]

Factors defining actinomycin D resistance in Staphylococcus aureus resistant to gramicidin S were investigated. The results of the thin layer chromatography, high-voltage electrophoresis and bioautography showed that the resistant cells did not inactivate actinomycin D by the hydrolysis of the lactone bond in the antibiotic molecule. The estimation of the cell ability to bind actinomycin D revealed that the antibiotic binding to the resistant cells was lower by 70-75 per cent as compared to the cells of the susceptible strains. Gramicidin S impaired the intactness of the cytoplasmic membranes and increased the absorption of actinomycin D by the susceptible cells and to a much lesser extent by the cells of the resistant strains. Actinomycin D bound by the susceptible cells could not be washed out with a buffer solution. It could be separated from the cells only by extraction with an organic solvent. Comparative electron microscopy of the susceptible and resistant cells demonstrated that the cell walls in the resistant strains were 1.5-2-fold thicker than the cell walls in the susceptible strains. The actinomycin D resistance of the Staphylococcus strains resistant gramicidin S was likely conditioned by the barrier properties of the morphologically changed cell walls.