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A RYTER

Publications and source records attributed to A RYTER.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

ELECTRON MICROSCOPE STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MESOSOME LOSS AND THE STABLE L STATE (OR PROTOPLAST STATE) IN BACILLUS SUBTILIS.

Ryter, Antoinette (Institut Pasteur, Paris, France), and Otto E. Landman. An electron microscope study of the relationship between mesosome loss and the stable L-state (or protoplast state) in Bacillus subtilis. J. Bacteriol. 88:457-467. 1964.-In a prior publication, it was postulated that inability of protoplasts to restart cell-wall synthesis and cell division and the inability of stable mass-conversion L forms to return to the bacillary state were both equivalent and both due to the interruption of a membrane-associated reaction sequence. It was further postulated that this reaction sequence might reside in the mesosome. In the present publication, it is shown by means of electron microscopy of thin sections that protoplasts and L forms do not contain mesosomes. The sequence of events leading to loss of the mesosomes during protoplasting is as follows. Soon after lysozyme addition, the mesosomes are extruded from the cell interior into the space between cell wall and cytoplasmic membrane. Mesosome fragments in the form of small vesicles gather at the poles of the cells and are released, along with intact protoplasts, when the wall fragments. (Sudden shift of bacilli to hypertonic environment also causes extrusion and fragmentation of mesosomes, but this damage is later repaired.) In intact bacilli, mesosomes are in contact with both the peripheral membrane and nuclear material. Upon extrusion of the mesosomes, a direct attachment between nuclear material and cytoplasmic membrane is observed. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-membrane attachment may play a role in the control of DNA replication. Bacillus subtilis L-colonies consist of irregularly shaped bodies of varying sizes, bounded only by a membrane. Many of the smaller bodies do not contain nuclear material, and many of the large ones appear inviable. Division is accomplished by a disorganized-appearing constriction process. There are no septa.

Bacillus↗

[Electron microscopic study of the nuclear transformations 05 E. coli K12S and K12S (lambda 26) after irradiation with ultraviolet rays and x-rays].

Nuclear transformations induced in E. coli K12S and K12S(lambda(26)) by ultraviolet radiations and x-rays have been studied with ultrathin sections in the electron microscope. The nucleoplasm keeps its normal aspect during "fragmentation" and during "condensation" of the nucleus into the "vesicular" form. Serial sections show that the "fragmented" nucleus consists in reality of only one very tortuous vacuole. No difference either in the shape or in the fine structure of the nucleus could be observed between the lysogenic strain and the non-lysogenic strain. A high concentration of NaCl has a "condensation" effect on the fragmented nuclei and decreases the induction rate.

Cell Nucleus↗

[Quantitative studies on ultrathin sections of bacteria infected with bacterio phage].

A quantitative relationship has been established between the number of particles, for example bacteriophages, counted in ultrathin sections of bacteria and the total number present in the whole bacterial cells. The factor F relating particles counted per section with the total number of these particles per entire bacterium could be arrived at by two methods, which proved to give results in close agreement. The first involves knowledge of the average volume of a bacterial section in proportion to the average volume of a whole bacterium; if the mean number of appearances of the same particle on consecutive sections is also known, F may then be calculated. The thickness of sections and, therefore, their volume, as well as the average number of times a single particle is sectioned could be learned by examination of serial sections. By counting the relative number of T2 phage particles which had been intersected once or twice, and relating this proportion to the known phage dimensions, the thickness of the sections was determined to be about 400 A. The second measurement of F could be made in a particular case of late phage development where the number of particles per cell was countable or titratable directly in the bacterial lysate, this number being compared with the number seen in sections of the bacteria just before lysis. The different sources of errors are discussed. The statistical error is under 20 per cent, while the systematic errors are higher and cannot yet be indicated precisely. After a very cautious estimation of the upper limits, we can state, however, that the counts made with this method are certainly reliable to well within a factor of two.

Bacteria↗

Electron microscope study of DNA-containing plasms. II. Vegetative and mature phage DNA as compared with normal bacterial nucleoids in different physiological states.

The nucleoids of Escherichia coli, independently of the physiological state of the bacteria, are shown to be preserved as a fine-stranded fibrillar nucleoplasm by an OsO(4) fixation under defined conditions: acetate-veronal buffer pH 6, presence of Ca(++) and amino acids, stabilization with uranyl-acetate before dehydration. The same fixation procedure applied to the DNA of vegetative phage reveals a pool of homogeneous fibrillar structure very similar to the nucleoplasm. The "versene test," which produces a coarse coagulation of these plasms, emphasizes the similar behaviour of the pool and the nucleoids. The heads of mature phage are preserved in their true polyhedral shape by the standard fixation procedure, although they may be badly distorted when fixed under different conditions. Lanthanum nitrate and uranyl-acetate are shown to increase markedly the contrast of both phage and cytoplasm. The consequences of the fibrillar structure of the genetic material are discussed in relation to the probable division process.

Bacteria↗