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Unidirectional Growth and Branch Formation of a Morphological Mutant, Agrobacterium tumefaciens

^a Institute of Applied Microbiology, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

ABSTRACT

Morphological characteristics of thermoconditional mutant Agrobacterium tumefaciens F-502 were investigated in relation to growth, division, and synthesis of cellular components. As a result of a shift from 27 to 37 C, mutant cells altered their morphology from short rods to elongated and branched forms; in addition, division and deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis were inhibited at 37 C. At 37 C unidirectional cell growth and branch formation occurred at one end of a cell, and the elongation rate of a cell was proportional to cell length. A hypothetical model for branch formation is presented in which the maximal elongation rate, 1.8 µm/h, at one end of a cell is an essential factor for initiation of branch formation.

¹ Present address: Shionogi Research Laboratory, Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Fukushima-ku, Osaka, Japan.

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