CHARACTERIZATION OF THE PROTOPLASMIC CONSTITUENTS OF BACILLUS MEGATERIUM

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Abstract
The protoplasmic constituents of B. megaterium were investigated by removal of the cell walls with lysozyme and subsequent lysis of the protoplasts, as well as by mechanical disintegration of the cells. Earlier investigations of the macromolecular organization of the microbial cell were confirmed. The 2 large structures constituting part of the protoplasts were characterized as (1) "ghosts," which may represent the cytoplasmic membrane, and (2) lipid granules. The cytochrome system of B. megaterium sediments with the "ghost" fraction in differential centrifugations. The bacterial lysates do not contain any discrete nuclear equivalents.