Amino acids of the cell wall of Nocardia rubra.

Two classes of preparations of cell walls of Nocardia rubra strain 721-A, digested by trypsin and pepsin with or without subsequent extraction in alkaline ethanol, when examined by electron microscope and analyzed quantitatively for amino acid content differ in ultrastructure and constituent amino acids. Evidence suggests that the lipid-associated amino acids (as peptide or protein) occupy a location superficial to the basal peptido-glycan layer of this nocardia. Their removal is associated with the loss of a characteristic pattern of the outer envelope.