ANTIBACTERIAL AND HEMOLYTIC ACTIVITIES OF LINENSCIN OC2, A HYDROPHOBIC SUBSTANCE PRODUCED BY BREVIBACTERIUM LINENS OC2

Linenscin OC2 is an antibacterial substance produced by the orange che ese coryneform bacterium Brevibacterium linens OC2. It inhibits the gr owth of Gram-positive bacteria but it is inactive against Gram-negativ e bacteria. The intact outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria was sh own to be an effective permeability barrier against linenscin OC2. At high dosage the effect of linenscin OC2 was bacteriolytic on Listeria innocua. Bacteriostasis was observed at low dosage and peptidoglycan b iosynthesis was affected at an early step upstream of the UDP-N-acetyl glucosamine. Hemolytic activity of this substance on sheep erythrocyte s suggested a common mode of action on prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell s. It also suggested that the cytoplasmic membrane might be the primar y target of linenscin OC2.