Brevibacterium divaricatum: Influence of nutritional conditions on the wall composition and release of uncross-linked peptidoglycan chains into medium

Abstract

Purified cell walls, originating from penicillin-treated (3 μg/ml, 1 h) and-untreated Brevibacterium divaricatum cells grown on complex (CM) and glucose minimal medium with (MM) or without (Ca-free MM) calcium carbonate, were isolated by two procedures. Electron micrographs and chemical analysis revealed no differences between identically isolated walls with respect to the presence or absence of either penicillin or calcium carbonate in the glucose growth medium. On the contrary, the appearance and peptidoglycan content of the walls was greatly dependent on the procedure used for their isolation and the walls isolated from the cells grown on complex medium contained more materials other than peptidoglycan. It was shown that the presence of calcium carbonate in the glucose minimal medium was essential for accumulation of large amounts of peptidoglycan chains into the medium. Penicillin-induced interruption of cell wall synthesis was prerequisite for manifestation of the calcium carbonate stimulating effect.