Summary
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1.
Membrane ultrastructure, phospholipid composition and protoplast stability and shape were studied in cells of Streptococcus faecalis grown with or without glucose and harvested at the stationary phase.
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2.
When the bacteria were grown with glucose and the pH was allowed to drop to acidic values, the cells exhibited a consistently well defined triple layered cytoplasmic membrane and yielded, upon treatment with lysozyme, stable protoplasts.
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3.
When the pH was kept at 7.2 by continuous neutralization with KOH or, to a greater extent, when the culture was carried out without glucose, the bacteria exhibited unclear membrane profiles and yielded unstable protoplasts.
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4.
The presence of positively charged phospholipids was dependent on the addition of glucose, its proportion being higher at acidic pH values.
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Mota, J.S., Silva, M.T. & Guerra, F.C. Variations in the membranes of Streptococcus faecalis related to different cultural conditions. Archiv. Mikrobiol. 83, 293–302 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00425241
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00425241