1887

Abstract

SUMMARY

Light microscopy observations of a sp. of blue-green alga suggested that the sheath was comparable with the capsules of many bacteria. The sheath showed little internal differentiation under normal or phase-contrast illumination. It possessed a somewhat hazy outer margin from which portions sloughed off, it stained with Alcian blue and was probably polysaccharide. The sheath formed salt-like complexes with proteins at appropriate low pH values which rendered it visible by phase-contrast microscopy. The composition of the culture medium influenced sheath formation. Electron microscopy showed that the sheath consisted of a micro-fibrillar network containing small numbers of larger fibrils (about 200 Å in diameter) which was compressed into stria near to the cell wall and expanded into an open reticulum further out. It would appear to be formed by continuous secretion through the longitudinal walls of the trichomes, and as the outermost regions imbibed water the network structure expanded and finally sloughed off.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-57-1-41
1969-07-01
2024-04-23
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/micro/57/1/mic-57-1-41.html?itemId=/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-57-1-41&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Desikachary T. V. 1959 Cyanophyta New Delhi: Indian Council of Agricultural Research;
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Duguid J. P. 1951; The demonstration of bacterial capsules and slime. J. Path. Bact. 63:673
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Duguid J. P., Wilkinson J. F. 1953; The influence of cultural conditions on polysaccharide production by Aerobacter aerogenes . J. gen. Microbiol. 9:174
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Echlin P., Morris I. 1965; The relationship between blue-green algae and bacteria. Biol. Rev. 40:143
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Fogg G. E. 1949; Growth and heterocyst production in Anabaena cylindrica Lemm. II. In relation to carbon and nitrogen metabolism. Ann. Bot. 13:249
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Frey-Wyssling A., Stecher H. 1954; Über den Feinbau des Nostoc-Schleimes. Z. Zellforsch. mikrosk. Anat. 39:515
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Fritsch R. E. 1945 The Structure and Reproduction of Algae 2792 Microbiology Society;
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Glauert A. M. 1965 Techniques for Electron Microscopy Kay D. H. Chap. 7 Oxford: Blackwell;
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Glauert A. M., Thornley M. J. 1966; Glutaraldehyde fixation of Gram-negative bacteria. J. R. microsc. Soc. 85:449
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Knaysi G., Hillier J., Fabricant C. 1950; The cytology of an avian strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis studied with the electron and light miscrocope. J. Bact. 60:432
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Labaw L. W., Mosley V. M. 1954; Demonstration of striated fibers in the capsule of the Lisbonne strain of lysogenic Escherichia coli . J. Bact. 67:576
    [Google Scholar]
  12. McKinney R. E. 1953; Staining bacterial polysaccharides. J. Bact 66:453
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Moore B. G., Tischer R. G. 1964; Extracellular polysaccharides of algae: effects on life-support systems. Science, N. Y. 145:586
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Moore B. G., Tischer R. G. 1965; Biosynthesis of extracellular polysaccharides by the blue-green alga Anabaena flosaquae . Can. J. Microbiol. 11:877
    [Google Scholar]
  15. O’Colla P. S. 1962 Physiology and Biochemistry of the Algae Lewin R. A. Chap. 20 New York: Academic Press;
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Pringsheim E. G. 1949 Pure Cultures of Algae Microbiology Society;
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Romano A. H., Peloqutn J. P. 1963; Composition of the sheath of Sphaerotilus natans . J. Bact. 86:252
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Singh R. N. 1954; Electron micrographs of the mucilage of the blue-green algae. I. Scytonema pseudogyanensi . Rapport Europes Congrés Toegeposte Electronen-microskopieGhent
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Skerman V. B. D. 1967 A Guide to the Identification of the Genera of Bacteria, 2. Baltimore: Williams-Wilkins Company;
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Smith G. M. 1950 The Freshwater Algae of the United States, 2. New York and London: McGraw-Hill;
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Stanier R. Y., Doudoroff M., Adelberg E. A. 1963 General Microbiology, 2. London: Macmillan;
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Tomcsik J., Guex-Holzer S. 1954; Demonstration of the bacterial capsule by means of a pH-dependent, salt-like combination with proteins. J. gen. Microbiol. 10:97
    [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-57-1-41
Loading
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/00221287-57-1-41
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error