Effects of Antibiotics That Inhibit Bacterial Peptidoglycan Synthesis on Plastid Division in Pteridophytes

We investigated the effect of antibiotics that specifically inhibit peptidoglycan synthesis on plastid division in pteridophytes by comparing the numbers of plastids in normal and antibiotic-treated pteridophyte cells. Plastid numbers were unaffected in Moniliformopses cells but decreased in Lycophytina cells after treatment with the beta-lactam antibiotic ampicillin. However, cells of all four pteridophyte species exhibited decreased plastid numbers when treated with the antibiotic fosfomycin. Together, these results suggest that the Mur genes may be related to plastid division in pteridophytes, as demonstrated for certain bryophytes.