The chloramphenicol altered fine structure ofAnabaena cylindrica

Abstract

In the presence of chloramphenicol the main peptidic inclusions of exponentially growing Anabaena cells changed from carboxysomes to cyanophycin. Prolonged chloramphenicol treatment removed both carboxysomes and cyanophycin, leaving only polyphosphate bodies. Polyphosphate bodies were common to senescent, nitrogen deficient and chloramphenicol-treated cells, but absent from exponentially growing cells. All three inclusions were present in senescent cells from aged cultures. Cyanophycin can be simply and reproducibly distinguished from osmiophilic inclusions by its strong reaction to uranyl acetate.