This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Juni, E. Articles by Heym, G. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Juni, E. Articles by Heym, G. A.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

J Bacteriol. 1964 February; 87(2): 461-467
Copyright © 1964 by the American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

PATHWAYS FOR BIOSYNTHESIS OF A BACTERIAL CAPSULAR POLYSACCHARIDE IV.

Capsule Resynthesis by Decapsulated Resting-Cell Suspensions

Department of Microbiology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia

ABSTRACT

JUNI, ELLIOT (Emory University, Atlanta, Ga.), AND GLORIA A. HEYM. Pathways for biosynthesis of a bacterial capsular polysaccharide. IV. Capsule resynthesis by decapsulated resting-cell suspensions. J. Bacteriol. 87:461–467. 1964.—Methods were devised for stripping capsules from encapsulated bacteria. By use of stripped resting-cell suspensions of a gram-negative capsule-forming coccus, it was shown that polysaccharide capsule resynthesis depends upon the presence of air and an oxidizable substrate. Capsule resynthesis proceeds linearly with time. For a given quantity of stripped cells, the net amount of polysaccharide capsule synthesized is a linear function of the amount of substrate oxidized. The only factor that appears to limit the extent of capsule synthesis by resting cells is the amount of substrate utilized. A series of photomicrographs of wet mounts made in India ink show the appearance of stripped cells and resynthesized capsules formed during oxidation of pyruvate and glucose by stripped resting-cell suspensions.