Side-Effect of Kanamycin an A Green Protista

Abstract

Permanent chlorosis of Euglena gracilis cells induced by streptomycin was described by Provasoli, et al.¹⁾ and Jírovec²⁾ some years ago. This effect of streptomycin on green flagellates was supposed to be a specific property of streptomycin. In the dark, these green flagellates also become chlorotic, but this effect is reversible; chlorophyll rapidly regenerates in light. Aminotriazole is also only a temporary inhibitor of chlorophyll synthesis³⁾.

There are many papers on the permanent bleaching effect of streptomycin. Goodwin and Gross⁴⁾ have examined streptomycin-bleached substrains for their carotenoid content. The content of usual carotenoids in these substrains is at best only one fifth of the content in normal green strains. We studied quantitative differences between the enzymatic equipment of green and by-antibiotics-depigmentated euglenas⁵⁾. In 1961 we described a similar bleaching effect of erythromycin⁶⁾.

In the course of our studies concerned with some side-effects of antibiotics we found that kanamycin also causes permanent chlorosis of cells of Euglena gracilis. So far many similar properties of streptomycin and kanamycin are known, e. g. the effect on Mycobacterium tuberculosis, their chemical structure etc. Therefore, kanamycin is counted among streptomycin-like antibiotics. A permanent chlorosis caused by kanamycin is a further property showing the relationship of streptomycin and kanamycin.