Abstract
A shift from cell-surface hydrophobicity to hydrophilicity was experimentally induced in the benthic hydrophobic cyanobacterium Phormidium sp. strain J-1, by mechanical shearing, chloramphenicol, and proteolytic treatment after preincubation with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). Treatment with SDS alone, while releasing large amounts of protein and carbohydrates from the cell wall, did not affect cell surface hydrophobicity.
Ultrastructural analysis showed the cells, to be enveloped by a double-layered minicapsule. Treatments affecting cellsurface hydrophobicity also caused changes in capsular components. A model, describing cell-surface structure, composition and properties in Phormidium J-1, was constructed by correlating ultrastructural data with surface properties.
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Abbreviations
- SDS:
-
Sodium dodecyl sulfate
- DCMU:
-
3(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea
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This paper is contributed in honor of Prof. G. Drews on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday
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Bar-Or, Y., Kessel, M. & Shilo, M. Modulation of cell surface hydrophobicity in the benthic cyanobacterium Phormidium J-1. Arch. Microbiol. 142, 21–27 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00409231
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00409231