HETEROCARYOSIS-LIKE PHENOMENON IN BACILLUS SUBTILIS.

Ikeda, Y. (University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan) and T. Iijima. Heterocaryosis-like phenomenon in Bacillus subtilis. J. Bacteriol. 83:1025-1028. 1962.-When a mixture of methionine-dependent, histidine-dependent, streptomycin-resistant cells and tryptophan-dependent, streptomycin-sensitive cells of Bacillus subtilis K is plated on minimal medium supplemented with asparagine and streptomycin, tiny colonies consisting of both component cells and X-type cells appear at a frequency of about 10(-6). Because the X-type cell segregates persistently both components and X-type, even after spore formation, it is considered to be a heterocaryon or a syncaryon possessing two kinds of genomes in a common cytoplasm.