DISTRIBUTION OF RADIOACTIVITY IN AUTOLYZED CELL WALL OF BACILLUS CEREUS DURING SPHEROPLAST FORMATION

Kronish, Donald P. (Warner-Lambert Research Institute, Morris Plains, N.J.),Raam R. Mohan, and Benjamin S. Schwartz . Distribution of radioactivity in autolyzed cell wall ofBacillus cereus during spheroplast formation. J. Bacteriol.87: 581–587. 1964.—Spheroplasts ofBacillus cereus strain T were produced from cells grown in the presence of uniformly labeled C14 -glucose. At regular intervals during spheroplast formation, enzymatically degraded cell wall was isolated by a new procedure. Radioactivity of solubilized cell wall in cell-free material increased from 2.5 to 42% of the total incorporated label during spheroplast formation. The rate of cell-wall degradation as measured by increase in radioactivity was biphasic with relative slopes of 2.0 and 5.0. During autolytic depolymerization ofB. cereus cell wall, two major components were solubilized at different rates. Chemical fractionation revealed these to be a peptide and a mucopeptide. The possibility of two enzymes being involved in spheroplast formation and cell-wall degradation is discussed.