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Abstract
A mutant growing as long filaments was regularly observed in continuous cultures of Bacillus cereus strain t. The filaments had approximately the same diameter as the parent bacilli and septa were observed at regular intervals, corresponding to the length of single bacilli of the parental type. The links between the individual organisms in the filaments appeared to possess high mechanical strength, as shown by their resistance to ultrasonic treatment. Lysozyme treatment resulted in a complete fragmentation of the filaments into bacilli of the same size as single normal organisms. Electron microscopy showed that the septa of the filaments were thinner than those displayed by dividing normal organisms. A zone of lower electron density, which developed in the contact zones between dividing normal bacilli in the early stages of division, was not observed in the links between the filamentous bacilli.
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