A fluorescent probe response to the interaction of pyocin R1 with sensitive cells.

Additon of pyocin R1, a bacteriocin of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, to sensitive cells caused a fluorescence increase of 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonate (ANS) in the cell suspension. The reaction was rapid, starting with a short time lag after adsorption of pyocin onto the cells and finishing within several minutes. The fluorescence response was attributed to the interaction of the cell body and ANS, not to that of the medium outside the cells and ANS. The maximal amplitude of fluorescence after pyocin addition was dependent on temperature, and the relation appeared to be biphasic. Similarly, Arrhenius plots of the initial rate of fluorescence change were biphasic. The transition of slopes in both cases occurred in the temperature range between 18 and 19 degrees. These results suggest that ANS interacts with lipids in the cell envelope and that pyocin causes a structural change of the cell envelope leading to increased fluorescence of ANS.