BIOCHEMISTRY OF THE ACTINOMYCETALES II. Streptomyces and Nocardia

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Abstract
Cell wall preparations of representative spp. of the genera Streptomyces and Nocardia were made by sonic vibration, and differences in the carbohydrate composition of the cell walls were observed. The cell walls of the Streptomyces spp. are of mucoid nature, susceptible to the action of lysozyme and containing considerable amounts of hexosamine. The cell walls of the Nocardia spp. are not lysed by lysozyme, contain much smaller amounts of hexosamine, but contain about 10% pentose, tentatively identified as arabinose. The possibility of using cell wall composition as a taxonomic criterion for the differentiation of the actinomycetes is discussed.