Species differences in susceptibilities of Proteeae spp. to six cephalosporins and three aminoglycosides.

Six cephalosporins and three aminoglycosides were examined for activity against 1,693 isolates belonging to six species of Proteeae. The most notable species-specific differences included the marked susceptibility of Providencia alcalifaciens and Proteus mirabilis to cephalothin, the resistance of Proteus vulgaris to cefamandole, and the resistance of Providencia stuartii to gentamicin and tobramycin. The third-generation cephalosporins cefotaxime and moxalactam were substantially more inhibitory than were cefoperazone, cefamandole, and cefoxitin.

Growth characteristics af low Na+ concentration and the stability of the Na+ requirement of a marine bacterium.

Studies of the marine bacterium Alteromonas haloplanktis 214 (formerly referred to as marine pseudomonad B-16) showed that as the Na+ concentration in the growth medium decreased from 230 to 34 mM, the lowest concentration permitting growth, the length of the lag period preceding exponential growth increased. Once growth had begun, except for a slight reduction in rate of growth at 34 mM Na+, the generation time and extent of growth remained essentially constant over the range of Na+ concentrations tested. Plate counts showed that during the lag period the numbers of viable cells introduced as inoculum into a complex medium containing 33 mM Na+ decreased exponentially before increasing.

Osmotic effects of membrane permeability in a marine bacterium.

When cells of Alteromonas haloplanktis 214 (ATCC 19855) were preloaded with alpha-[(14)C]aminoisobutyric acid or the K(+) in the cells was labeled with (42)K by incubation in a buffered salt solution containing 0.05 M MgSO(4), 0.01 M KCl, and 0.