Death and lysis of Escherichia coli 15TAU cells after pulse-interrupted thymine starvation.

Abstract

The loss of colony-forming ability and lysis of cells were studied after pulse-interrupted thymine starvation of a culture ofEscherichia coli 15 TAU which before starvation grew exponentially or was synchronized by starvation for arginine and uracil. Even a 5-minute pulse cancelled the effects of previous starvation leading to lysis, while loss of colony-forming ability after pulse was changed only slightly. The course of lysis and thymineless death after synchronization did not depend on the presence or absence of thymine during about a 40-min interval just after synchronization. With an appropriate time-schedule of pulses, it was possible to prolong the total time of interrupted starvation after which lysis did not appear.