The Actionof Phenol and 2-Phenoxyethanol on the Oxidation of Various Substances by Escherichia coli and by a Disrupted Cell Preparation of the Organism

SUMMARY: The effects of phenol and 2-phenoxyethanol on the oxygen uptake of washed suspensions and a disrupted cell ' preparation of Escherichia coli, with dif-ferent substrates, has been further investigated. Stimulation of oxygen uptake with mannitol or glucose as substrate was not due to an increase in the viable population or associated with an uncoupling effect. The results obtained with a disrupted cell preparation capable of oxidizing glucose and lactic acid to pyruvic acid, on compari-son with results with intact organisms, suggest that enzyme location may account for the differences in inhibitory activity obtained with different substrates. Hugo & Street (1952) showed that the action of phenol and 2-phenoxyethanol (phenoxetol) on the course of oxygen uptake by washed suspensions of Escherichia coli differed markedly with different substrates. In the presence of phenol (0.1-0.2 %, w/v; 0~010-0~021 M) and 2-phenoxyethanol (0-1-0-2 yo, w/v; 0.007-0.014~) a stimulation of the rate of oxygen uptake of the order of 10-20 yo occurred when glucose, mannitol or lactose was used as substrate; these same doses inhibited the rate of oxygen uptake by 10-15 Yo when succi