Differential lytic response of enterococci associated with addition order of lysozyme and anions

Abstract

Suspensions of Streptococcus faecium, prepared by washing with and resuspending in water, were lysed slowly if sodium chloride was added prior to lysozyme; however, if brief incubation with lysozyme was followed by addition of sodium chloride, lysis was immediate and extensive. Relatively lysozyme-resistant strains of S. faecalis could be lysed readily by adding lysozyme first. The primary addition of lysozyme apparently resulted in a "sensitized" cell with a damaged wall, as evidenced by N-acetylhexosamine release. Anionic detergents could replace sodium chloride in lysing these sensitized cells. The difference in activity associated with the order of addition probably involved a competition for reactive sites on the cell surface.