Daptomycin Exerts Bactericidal Activity without Lysis of <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>

Abstract

The ability of daptomycin to produce bactericidal activity against Staphylococcus aureus while causing negligible cell lysis has been demonstrated using electron microscopy and the membrane integrity probes calcein and ToPro3. The formation of aberrant septa on the cell wall, suggestive of impairment of the cell division machinery, was also observed.