BACTERIAL CELL MEMBRANES: II. POSSIBLE STRUCTURE OF THE BASAL MEMBRANE CONTINUUM OF MICROCOCCUS LYSODEIKTICUS

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Abstract
Treatment of isolated membranes from M. lysodeikitcus with acetone, ethanol, or methanol, but not ethyl acetate, extracts phospholipids and carotenoids. These extracted membranes are not disaggregated by such treatments and retain a three-layered appearance. The extracted membranes can be completely disaggregated by sodium lauryl sulfate, yielding subunits which are primarily protein (stripped subunits). These stripped subunits reaggregate into membranous sheets that also possess a three-layered structure. Conditions for reaggregation of stripped subunits are the same as for unstripped subunits. Extracted phospholipids and carotenoids from M. lysodeikitcus or phospholipids from Erwinia sp. are incorporated into the membranous sheets formed using the stripped subunits from M. lysodeikticus. The composition of the basal membrane continuum from M. lysodeikticus consists primarily of protein; most phospholipids and carotenoids appear to be present as superstructures on the top and bottom of the protein. Membrane protein is basic and does not appear to contain any cysteine. It is speculated that hydrophobic amino acids may be positioned in clusters on the facing sides of the molecules.

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