![Sample our Environment & Agriculture journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5934/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Environment-Agriculture.jpg"})
Abstract
The effect of bovine seminal plasma (BSP) on membrane function in BSP-sensitive and BSP-resistant bacteria was studied using Bacillus megaterium and Micrococcus lysodeikticus as sensitive strains and Pseudomonas aeruginosa as a resistant strain. In the presence of BSP the sensitive bacteria rapidly lost 14C-aminoisobutyric acid, a non-metabolisable analogue of glycine and alanine; leakage of cytoplasmic material occurred and 14C-valine was not accumulated. The BSP-resitant pseudomonad did not release as much cytoplasmic material and was able to accumulate valine in the presence of BSP. Osmotically sensitive bodies prepared from sensitive or resistant bacteria were equally sensitive to lysis by BSP. It is concluded that BSP inhibits bacterial growth in semen by damaging the integrity of bacterial cytoplasmic membranes. The factor responsible may be identical with a factor in BSP which is reported to increase the fragility of spermatozoa. In Gram-negative bacteria an outer permeability barrier may block the access of inhibitory factors in BSP to the cytoplasmic membrane and thus confer resistance.