Full text loading...
Abstract
SUMMARY: Five streptomycins bleached the chloroplast system of Euglena gracilis; the most effective were those which contained an aldehyde group in the streptose moiety: streptomycin and hydroxystreptomycin. Derivatives containing a secondary alcohol group in place of the aldehyde (dihydro-, dihydro-desoxy-, dihydrohydroxystreptomycin) require higher concentrations to elicit the same effect. Hydroxylamine reversed the bleaching effects of streptomycin and hydroxystreptomycin but not of dihydro-, dihydrodesoxy- or dihydrohydroxystreptomycin. These observations suggest that the aldehyde group of the streptomycins contributes to the action of these antibiotics on Euglena chloroplasts; the action of hydroxylamine would be to either remove the antibiotic from its site of action or to render it ineffective in vivo by reaction with the aldehyde group.
- Accepted:
- Published Online: