It was reported by Anand and Davis1) that chloramphenicol prevents killing of E.coli by streptomycin when the two antibiotics are added to the bacterial culture concomitantly. Anand, Davis and Armitage2) demonstrated that chloramphenicol blocks accumulation of 14C-streptomycin in bacteria. Hurwitz and Rosano3) assumed the prerequisite of a streptomycin-induced chloramphenicol-sensitive protein synthesis for the lethal action of streptomycin. They4) also observed that chloramphenicol inhibits intrabacterial accumulation of 14C-streptomycin and suggested that streptomycin-induced protein may be a specific transport system (permease).
However, if the above assumption is correct, the induced protein synthesis appears not to be inhibited by streptomycin itself, although the antibiotic is known to interfere with protein synthesis under a certain conditions. We5) are interested in the mode of action of kanamycin and like to know whether a similar phenomenon occurs with the lethal action of kanamycin. For the purpose of elucidating these problems, the effects of antibiotics, which inhibit bacterial protein synthesis, on the lethal action of kanamycin and streptomycin were studied and the results are presented in this publication.
The antibiotics used include chloramphenicol, erythromycin, mikamycin A, puromycin, blasticidin S and tetracycline. The bactericidal action of both streptomycin and kanamycin was blocked by chloramphenicol, erythromycin, mikamycin A, blasticidin S and tetracycline, but not by puromycin.
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