EFFECT OF PURIFIED ENZYMES ON VIRUSES AND GRAM-NEGATIVE BACTERIA

Evidence is presented that some viruses behave like proteins in that they are inactivated by proteolytic enzymes, whereas others prove more or less resistant. Ten strains of living Gram-negative bacteria resisted the action of purified trypsin and chymotrypsin, while the killed organisms were rapidly digested. Gram-positive bacteria, on the other hand, were resistant whether living or dead. The findings are discussed.