Purified suspensions of the sheep rumen organism known colloquially as ‘Quin's oval’ were prepared from sheep rumen liquor. The chemical composition of cell walls prepared from the organisms of these suspensions was found to include protein, lipid and polysaccharide. A fraction from these walls, obtained after removal of much of the protein and polysaccharide, was shown to contain muramic acid, glucosamine and diaminopimelic acid. These findings are consistent with this organism being regarded as a Gram-negative bacterium.
DischeZ.,
ShettlesL. B.1948; A specific colour reaction of methylpentoses and a spectro-photometric micromethod for their determination. J. biol. Chem 175:595
GrulaE. A.,
SmithG. L.,
GrulaM. M.1965; Cell division in a species of Erwinia. VIII. Amino acid composition of the mucopeptide in dividing and non-dividing cells Canad. J. Microbiol 11:605
QuinJ. I.1943; Studies on the alimentary tract of Merino sheep in South Africa. VII. Fermentation in the fore stomachs of sheep Onderstepoort J. vet. Sci 18:91
StromingerJ. L.,
ParkJ. T.,
ThompsonR. E.1959; Composition of the cell wall of Staphylococcus aureus’ its relation to the mechanism of action of penicillin. J. biol. Chem 234:3263
van der WesthuizenG. C. A.,
OxfordA. E.,
QuinJ. I.1950; Studies on the alimentary tract of Merino sheep in South Africa. XVI. On the identity of Schizosaccharomyces ovis Part I. Some yeast-like organisms isolated from the rumen contents of sheep fed on a lucerne diet Onderstepoort. J. vet. Sci 24:119