Antigens of Spheroplast Membrane Preparations from Escherichia coli B

Abstract

Vennes and Gerhardt¹ demonstrated quite conclusively by serological means that no trace of cell-wall antigens remained attached to the protoplast membranes prepared by lysozyme treatment of Bacillus megaterium. Because of the differences in the chemical composition of walls of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria it has been suggested that the osmotically fragile, spherical bodies produced from Gram-negative bacteria by lysozyme treatment or induced by penicillin action have only partially lost their cell-wall material². Salton and Shafa³ have shown that some cell-wall components remain in spheroplasts prepared by the penicillin method from two Gram-negative species. Their results indicated that the lipo-protein components remained attached to the spheroplasts. The wall preparations from the spheroplasts were also agglutinated by a cell-wall antiserum.