A mutant of Azospirillum brasilense Sp7 impaired in flocculation with a modified colonization pattern and superior nitrogen fixation in association with wheat.

We report here significant phenotypic and genetic differences between Azospirillum brasilense Sp7 and spontaneous mutant Sp7-S and their related properties in association with wheat. In contrast to the wild-type strain of Sp7, colonies of Sp7-S stained weakly with Congo red when grown on agar media containing the dye and did not flocculate in the presence of fructose and nitrate. Scanning and transmission electron micrographs showed clearly that the Sp7-S strain lacked surface materials present as a thick layer on the surface of the wild-type Sp7 strain. Different patterns of colonization on wheat roots between Sp7 and Sp7-S, revealed by in situ studies using nifA-lacZ as a reporter gene, were related to a large increase in nitrogenase activity (acetylene reduction) with Sp7-S in association with normal and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid-treated wheat for assays conducted under conditions in which the nitrogenase activity of free-living Azospirillum organisms was inhibited by an excess of oxygen. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA analysis indicated the close genetic relationship of Sp7-S to several other sources of Sp7, by comparison to other recognized strains of A. brasilense. Genetic complementation of Sp7-S was achieved with a 9.4-kb fragment of DNA cloned from wild-type Sp7, restoring Congo red staining and flocculation.

Chloroplast development and the synthesis of chlorophyll a and b and chlorophyll protein complexes I and II in the dark in Tradescantia albiflora (Kunth).

Continued synthesis of chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b occurs in Tradescantia albiflora Kunth on transfer to darkness. This synthesis continues for several days and may result in a doubling of chlorophyll content per leaf. It is accompanied by continued cell division and development of normal chloroplast ultrastructure, including stacked thylakoids.

Structure and function in the euglenoid eyespot apparatus: The fine structure, and response to environmental changes.

The microanatomy of the eyespot apparatus of Euglena gracilis Z was examined with the electron microscope. The stigma was found to be a membrane-bounded organelle showing no close homology with the chloroplast or any other organelle. The structure and pigment content of the stigma both diminish with extended hetrotrophic growth, and quickly regain normal dimensions upon exposure to light. Synthesis of the red pigment is particularly sensitive to inhibition by chloramphenicol, whereas construction of the structure itself is specifically inhibited by cycloheximide.The paraflagellar body appears to consist of two sets of parallel 80 Å striations intersecting at 60°. It is within the flagellar membrane, but separated from the axoneme by another structure, the paraflagellar rod. This elongated structure has an ordered substructure which appears as intersecting sets of parallel striations; part of its basal portion projects as a circular flange which makes contact with the paraflagellar body.

Relation between excreted lipopolysaccharide complexes and surface structures of a lysine-limited culture of Escherichia coli.

Knox, K. W. (Twyford Laboratories, London, England), Maret Vesk, and Elizabeth Work. Relation between excreted lipopolysaccharide complexes and surface structures of a lysine-limited culture of Escherichia coli. J. Bacteriol. 92:1206-1217. 1966.-The lysine-requiring mutant Escherichia coli 12408, when grown in 15 liters of defined medium containing a suboptimal amount of lysine, showed a biphasic type of growth. During a long stationary phase of 15 hr, there was a steady accumulation of diaminopimelic acid (DAP) and an antigenic complex of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and lipoprotein; the accumulation continued unchanged until the end of the second growth phase. The rapid rate of DAP excretion suggested that it was the result of a derepressed state of a biosynthetic pathway. LPS excretion was such that the amount in the culture fluid was doubled during a period corresponding to the normal generation time for the organism; this suggested that the LPS-lipoprotein complex was a product of unbalanced growth. Surface defects were suggested by the action of lysozyme, which, in low concentrations (10 mug/ml), lysed the lysine-limited cells even in the absence of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, but had no effect at 10 mug/ml on cells grown with adequate lysine. Electron microscopy of cells excreting the LPS complex showed them to be surrounded by a mass of stacked leaflets and globules, some of which were bounded by triple membranes. Sections showed no lysis but changes in cell surfaces; outer layers of the walls had numerous blebs whose outer membranes were sometimes continuous with the outer triple membrane of the wall. LPS-lipoprotein probably originates from these blebs.