Takeya, Kenji (Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan) and Kazuhito Hisatsune. Mycobacterial cell walls. I. Methods of preparation and treatment with various chemicals. J. Bacteriol. 85:16-23. 1963.-Several methods of preparation of mycobacterial cell walls were examined, and the grinding method with glass powder, using Dry Ice, was found to give fairly good cell-wall preparations. "Paired fibrous structures" were clearly seen on the purified cell wall. The appearance of the cell wall as revealed by the electron microscope was not altered by digestion with trypsin, pronase, or pronase in 5% alcoholic solution, nor by treatment with 95% alcohol, acetone-alcohol mixture, or ether-alcohol mixture. By treatment with alcoholic KOH solution, the fibrous structure was removed. The remaining thin layer of the cell wall was tentatively designated the "basal layer" of the mycobacterial cell wall. The fibers appeared also to be removed by chloroform treatment. Nagarse digestion seemed to solubilize some constituents of the cell wall. The cell wall lost its shape and rigidity after lysozyme digestion.

Cell Wall↗

PubMed1963

Mycobacterial cell walls. II. Chemical composition of the "basal layer".

Takeya, Kenji (Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan), Kazuhito Hisatsune, and Yasuko Inoue. Mycobacterial cell walls. II. Chemical composition of the "basal layer." J. Bacteriol. 85:24-30. 1963.-Chemical composition of the "basal layer" of the mycobacterial cell wall was determined. The layer contained 35% amino acids, 41.5% reducing sugars (mainly composed of arabinose and galactose), 13.8% amino sugars (glucosamine and muramic acid, 2:1), and 7.7% lipid. The main amino acids were alanine, glutamic acid, and diaminopimelic acid. Their molar ratio was approximately 2:2:1. The main difference in chemical composition between the cell wall and the basal layer was found in lipid content. According to the chemical composition, the basal layer resembles the walls of gram-positive bacteria, while the mycobacterial cell wall resembles the walls of gram-negative bacteria. The basal layer was thoroughly disintegrated by lysozyme digestion, and was considered to be an inner layer of the wall, conferring shape and rigidity on the mycobacterial cell wall.

Alanine↗

PubMed1963