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Agglutination of Bacterial Spheroplasts: Agglutination-Dependent Degradation of Escherichia coli Ribosomal Ribonucleic Acid

Department of Microbiology and Chemotherapy, Nippon Roche Research Center, 200 Kajiwara Kamakura, 247 Japan

ABSTRACT

When Escherichia coli spheroplasts made by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and lysozyme were agglutinated by concanavalin A (con A), the degradation of ribosomal ribonucleic acid (rRNA) was found to occur proportionally to the degree of the agglutination, which was determined by microscopic examination or by a newly devised assay based on the slower settling of aggregates. Methyl--D-glucoside, low temperature or alkaline pH, all of which reverse the agglutination, also reduced the extent of rRNA degradation. This degradation was not due to the direct action of con A since a similar relationship was found in the case of spontaneous agglutination with concentrated spheroplasts in the absence of con A. The possible importance of a change in the cell membrane associated with the agglutination process is discussed in connection with the initiation of rRNA degradation.