Streptomycin bactericidal action is dependent on polyamine endogenous levels in E. coli.

E. coli polyamine-supplemented and depleted cultures showed an important difference in survival to streptomycin; the bactericidal effect of the antibiotic was remarkably higher in cells with normal levels of polyamines. Similar results were observed with kanamycin. Analysis of the polyamine-containing cells pulse-labelled with 35S-methionine during streptomycin action indicated that the amounts of newly-synthesized peptides in various subcellular fractions was different from the amounts formed in the untreated controls; the most dramatic change was found in the residual particulate fraction where the antibiotic treatment caused a 3-fold increase of radioactive proteins. On the contrary, equivalent amounts of labelled peptides were detected in the different fractions prepared from polyamine-depleted bacteria incubated with or without antibiotic. In this case the corresponding residual fraction was only slightly increased. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the different fractions showed some changes elicited by streptomycin in the protein patterns of polyamine-containing bacteria, especially in the residual fractions. The electrophoretic profile corresponding to deprived cells was very similar in all cases. The role of polyamines in the conformation of the outer membrane and in the correct assembly of ribosomes is discussed on account of the enhancing effect of these polycations on the bactericidal action of streptomycin.