INDUCTION OF MORPHOLOGICAL ABERRATIONS IN RHODOSPIRILLUM RUBRUM BY d -AMINO ACIDS

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Abstract
The gram-negative photosynthetic bacterium Rhodospirillum rubrum grows with characteristic spiral morphology in media containing certain L-amino acids as sole source of nitrogen and carbon. In D-amino acid media, several types of marked morphological aberrations are observed (horseshoes, figure-eights, long forms, or distorted forms showing condensation of cell contents). Cell yields with D-amino acids are much smaller than with the L isomers, except in the cases of alanine and aspartic acid. The hexosamine contents of "D-amino acid cells" approximate the normal value and tend to be slightly higher than those of corresponding "L-amino acid cells.