Ultrastructure of the cell wall of the triangular halophilic archaebacterium Haloarcula japonica strain TR-1

Abstract

Cells of the halophilic archaebacterium Haloarcula japonica strain TR-1 were prepared for electron microscopy using conventional fixation and the freeze-substitution method. Cell walls were not observed in thin sections of cells prepared by conventional procedures, whereas thin sections of cells prepared by the freeze-substitution method revealed a cell wall 20–25 nm in thickness composed of three layers. Arrays of hexagonal structures arranged on the cell surface were observed in grazing sections.