THE ACTION OF HOT FORMAMIDE ON BACTERIAL CELL WALLS.

1. The cell walls of Corynebacterium tritici contain much carbohydrate and their mucopeptide contains diaminobutyric acid instead of lysine or diaminopimelic acid. They are resistant to lysozyme. 2. The residue after extraction with hot formamide contains only about 10% less carbohydrate but is attacked by lysozyme. Lysozyme also slowly attacks cell walls treated with fluorodinitrobenzene and more rapidly cell walls that have been N-acetylated. 3. All these processes block the free gamma-amino groups of diaminobutyric acid present in the untreated cell wall. Hot formamide introduces formyl groups, as shown by its ability to make formylglycine and diformyl-lysine under the same conditions. 4. N-Formyl groups are also introduced into the cell walls of Micrococcus lysodeikticus by hot formamide, but this change increases only slightly their already great sensitivity to lysozyme. N-Acetylation also increases sensitivity to lysozyme.