The effect of rifampicin on the developmental phases of germinating spores of Clostridum sp., MSp+.

The effect of rifampicin on the developmental phases of germinating spores of Clostridium botulinum, MSp+, has been studied. At sublethal concentrations of rifampicin (0.05 ng/ml) the time periods required for outgrowth and vegetative growth was significantly prolonged because of the inhibition of RNA and protein synthesis. However, rifampicin had essentially no effect on DNA synthesis or on subsequent spore formation. Chemical analyses showed that the amount of protein present in vegetative cells of the rifampicin-treated cultures was twice as great as in the untreated cultures but the total protein content of endospores was the same in both cases. It was revealed in ultrastructural studies of rifampicin (0.1 ng/ml) treated cultures, examined after 22 h, that septum formation and normal cell division of the emerging cell was blocked and a few cells showed constriction which produced one normal and one protoplast-like daughter cell.