Identification and characterization of some bacterial membrane sulfhydryl groups which are targets of bacteriostatic and antibiotic action.

Covalent modification of sulfhydryl groups which become sensitive toward sulfhydryl agents during germination of Bacillus cereus spores exerts a profound bacteriostatic effect, resulting in outgrowth inhibition. The modified spore components are membrane species of 13,000, 28,000, and 29,000 daltons. Detergent disruption of the membrane inactivated the sulfhydryl groups. A highly sigmoid inhibition curve (n = 11.8) with diamide suggested the participation of closely neighboring sulfhydryl groups. Substate and substrate analogs of the lactose and dicarboxylic acid permeases protected the sulfhydryl groups against modification. Nisin, a 34-residue peptide antibiotic, inhibited spore outgrowth and sulfhydryl modification at a concentration of about 0.1 microM. Since these sulfhydryl groups have been implicated as involved with the bacteriostatic action of nitrite, substances directed toward them may be a useful new class of bacteriostatic agents and antibiotics.