Permeability of the membrane of the Escherichia coli envelope for ethidium bromide

The interaction of ethidium bromide, a fluorescent dye, with Escherichia coli cells was studied. The envelope of intact cells was shown to be impermeable for ethidium bromide molecules. The dye penetrated however into E. coli spheroplasts. The barrier properties of the cell envelope against ethidium...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inMikrobiologija (Moskva. 1932) Vol. 51; no. 5; p. 731
Main Authors Govorunov, I G, Kosarev, N V, Evtodienko, Iu V, Puchkov, E O
Format Journal Article
LanguageRussian
Published Russia (Federation) 1982
Subjects
Cell Membrane - drug effects
Cell Membrane Permeability - drug effects
Cytoplasm - drug effects
Edetic Acid - pharmacology
Escherichia coli - drug effects
Escherichia coli - metabolism
Ethidium - pharmacology
Fluorescence
Spheroplasts - drug effects
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Summary:The interaction of ethidium bromide, a fluorescent dye, with Escherichia coli cells was studied. The envelope of intact cells was shown to be impermeable for ethidium bromide molecules. The dye penetrated however into E. coli spheroplasts. The barrier properties of the cell envelope against ethidium bromide were ruptured if the cells were treated with EDTA. The results suggest that the outer membrane serves as a principal barrier against penetration of ethidium bromide inside the cells while the cytoplasmic membrane of E. coli is permeable for the dye.
ISSN:0026-3656