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Samples of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), microsomal ribonucleic acid (RNA) and a neutral polysaccharide from Mycoplasma mycoides var. capri were isolated and analysed. The DNA was found to have an adenine + thymine/guanine + cytosine value of 3·04, and the RNA to have an adenine+ uracil/guanine + cytosine value of 1·21.
The amino acid composition of the protein of the organism was also determined and found to be in close agreement with the values expected by extrapolating the curves obtained from the amino acid contents of the protein of several bacteria having DNA’s with a wide range of adenine + thymine/guanine + cytosine values ( Sueoka, 1961 ). The values were also in close agreement with those obtained for the protein of Tetrahymena pyriformis, which has a DNA of similar base composition (A + T/G + C = 3·0). Two significant exceptions were noted: the value for proline was almost twice as large as would have been expected and a large amount of cysteine was found.
The mycoplasma organisms contained a very small amount of a neutral polysaccharide in which only glucose was detected.