Nature 180, 655 - 656 (28 September 1957); doi:10.1038/180655a0

Acriflavine as an Effective Agent for eliminating F-factor in Escherichia coliK-12

YUKINORI HIROTA & TEIJI IIJIMA

Department of Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.

THE artificial elimination of F-factor in Escherichia coli K-12 was obtained by treating F+ cells in a cobalt- or nickel-containing medium¹. Of the two methods described in that communication, the direct method was difficult to apply to some strains derived from K-12, because the facility of conversion of F+ cells to F- cells varied with the strains used. On the other hand, the resistant-isolation method consistently gave F- cells, but was somewhat tedious, because the development of resistance to cobalt or nickel was very slow. Recently, however, it has been found that acrinavine is more effective for converting F+ cells into F- than cobalt or nickel and other metals (Ikoma, I., unpublished work).

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