Effect of polyene antibiotics on protoplasts of Neurospora crassa.

Kinsky, Stephen C. (Washington University, St. Louis, Mo.). Effect of polyene antibiotics on protoplasts of Neurospora crassa. J. Bacteriol. 83:351-358. 1962.-The polyene antibiotics nystatin, amphotericin B, and filipin induced shrinkage of Neurospora crassa protoplasts stabilized in sucrose. At low concentrations of filipin (5 mug per ml), or higher concentrations of nystatin and amphotericin B (20 mug per ml), shrinkage was followed by swelling and lysis (bursting) of protoplasts. The effect of various parameters, such as metabolic inhibitors, protoplast concentration, and polyene concentration, was determined. The available evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that polyene antibiotics act by altering cellular permeability, possibly by reaction with the cell membrane, of sensitive organisms.