Peptidoglycan compositions of a new strain of Arthrobacter crystallopietes during sphere-rod morphogenesis.

Arthrobacter crystallopoieties ATCC 15481 was used to isolate a new strain. designated Arthrobacter crystallopoieties EPSR-16, which had a mass doubling time in brain heart infusion broth and in glucose/salts/yeast extract medium of 30 min compared to 2.40 h for the parent strain in similar media. The growth rates for the new strain and for the parent were close to 12 h in glucose/salts medium. The new strain formed well-separated cocci and diplococci in glucose/salts medium, and upon nutrient shift-up all the cells in the population gradually changed into well-separated rods of regular shape. In the spherical state the cell wall peptidoglycan of the new strain contained lysine and no diaminopimelic acid. A gradual loss in lysine and a gain in diaminopimelic acid occurred during morphogenesis. Diaminopimelic acid became predominant in the cell wall during balanced growth in the rod state.