A Study of the Structure of the Cell Wall of Spirillum Serpens Using Frozen, Hydrated Specimens
Based on chemical and electron microscopic studies (Buckmire and Murray, 1970), the cell wall of Spirillum serpens VHA, a Gram-negative bacterium, is composed of several components including protein, lipopolysaccharide, and peptidoglycan. By a gentle heating of the bacteria at 60°C, the outermost components of the cell wall are separated from the rest of the cell, and can be purified by simple procedures. In the negatively stained preparations, it has been shown by Buckmire and Murray that these components appear in both lamellar and tubular forms made up of identical particles in a closely packed hexagonal arrangement. These particles are approximately 90 Å in diameter, with a center-to-center spacing of approximately 150 Å, and are connected by Y-shaped links.