This paper studied the inhibitory effects of dithiocyano-methane (DM) on the glucose decomposition pathway in the respiratory metabolism of Escherichia coli. We investigated the effects of DM on the activities of key enzymes (ATPase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, G6PDH), the levels of key product (nicotinamide adenosine denucleotide hydro-phosphoric acid, NADPH), and gene expression in the hexose monophosphate pathway (HMP). The results showed that the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum bactericide concentration (MBC) of DM against the tested strains were 5.86 mg/L and 11.72 mg/L, respectively. Bacteria exposed to DM at MIC demonstrated an increase in bacterial ATPase and G6PDH activities, NADPH levels, and gene expression in the HMP pathway compared to bacteria in the control group, which could be interpreted as a behavioral response to stress introduced by DM. However, DM at a lethal concentration of 10 × MIC affected glucose decomposition by inhibiting mainly the HMP pathway in E. coli.
Keywords: Dithiocyano-methane; Escherichia coli; Hexose monophosphate pathway; Respiratory metabolism.