Amino Acid Assimilation and Electron Transport System Activity in Attached and Free-Living Marine Bacteria

Amino acid assimilation and electron transport system activity of a marine Pseudomonas sp. was evaluated to determine whether the activity of bacteria attached to solid surfaces differed from that of free-living bacteria or bacteria which had been attached but subsequently desorbed from the substratum (detached bacteria). Bacteria were allowed to attach to glass and to a range of plastic surfaces (Thermanox, polyvinylidene fluoride, polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene). Microautoradiography and staining with a tetrazolium salt to demonstrate electron transport system activity were used to compare the activity of these organisms with that of free-living or detached cells. The water-wettability of the surfaces was evaluated by measuring the advancing contact angle (θ_A) of water on each surface, to determine whether there was a relationship between activity and substratum hydrophilicity. There was an increase in the proportion of leucine-assimilating attached bacteria and in the proportion of attached cells demonstrating electron transport system activity with an increase in substratum θ_A, but the relationship between activity of attached and free-living cells depended on the substratum. Activity appeared to promote firm attachment, and detached bacteria assimilated fewer amino acids than did attached cells. There was no general effect of surfaces on attached bacterial activity, and attached cells may be more, or less, active than free-living cells, depending on the amino acid, its concentration, and substratum properties.     

Initial adhesion of human fibroblasts in serum-free medium: possible role of secreted fibronectin.

Experiments were carried out to test the hypothesis that the initial attachment and spreading of human fibroblasts in serum-free medium occurs to cell fibronectin which has been secretd spread on tissue culture substrata in serum-free medium in 60 min. When potential protein adsorption sites on the substratum were covered with bovine serum albumin before initial human fibroblasts attachment, their subsequent attachment to the substratum was prevented. When substratum adsorption sites were covered immediately after initial attachment, subsequent cell spreading was prevented. The distribution of fibronectin on human fibroblast surfaces during initial attachment and spreading was studied by indirect immunofluorescence analysis using a monospecific anti-cold-insoluble globulin antiserum. The initial appearance (10 min) of fibronectin was in spots over the entire cell surface. Concomitant with human fibroblast spreading, the random distribution of sites disappeared, and most fibronectin was subsequently observed in spots at the cell substratum interface (60 min). A fibrillar pattern of fibronectin appeared later (2-8 hr). The sites beneath the cells could be visualized as footprints on the substratum following treatment of the attached human fibroblasts with 0.1 M NaOH. A second fluorescence pattern of fibronectin secreted on the substratum was characterized by a diffuse halo around the cells and a very faint, diffuse staining elsewhere on the substratum. Another cell type (baby hamster kideny cells) was used to assay biologically for the presence or absence of the factor secreted by human fibroblasts on the substratum. Human fibroblasts were found to secrete an adhesion factor for baby hamster kidney cells into the substratum in a time- and temperature-dependent fashion, and immunological studies indicated that the factor secreted by human fibroblasts was cross-reactive with cold-in-soluble globulin, the plasma form of fibronectin. The conditioning factor secreted by the human fibroblasts was also found to be an attachment and spreading factor for human fibroblasts in experiments measuring human fibroblast adhesion to fibronectin footprints of human fibroblasts. Substratum-adsorbed cold-insoluble globulin was also found to be an attachment and spreading factor for human fibroblasts. Based upon the timing of appearance of conditioning factors on the substratum and the immunofluorescence patterns, it seems that the diffusely organized fibronectin on the substratum constitutes the sites to which cell attachment occurs. The bright spots of fibronectin that appear beneath the cells may represent fibronectin reorganization during cell spreading.     

Improved negative staining of microfilament arrangements in detergent-extracted Physarum amoeboflagellates

A motile, lamellipodium-like structure, the ridge, forms as amoeboflagellate cells of Physarum polycephalum release from a substratum and begin swimming in fluid. Actin microfilaments form a distinct laminar core within the ridge; they are seen as a sparse, disordered meshwork in cytoskeletons prepared by conventional methods using uranyl acetate negative staining [10]. Preservation and visualization of these filaments and their arrangements improved considerably when cytoskeletons were imaged with phosphotungstic acid buffered with ammonium hydroxide (PTA(NH4]. Microfilaments within ridge cytoskeletons were found to form loose bundles and criss-crossing, 'meshwork' arrays several layers deep. Differences could be detected in morphology and detailed arrangement of microfilaments within cytoskeletons prepared in the presence of phalloidin. PTA(NH4) may be useful for studies of cytoskeletal elements and their rearrangements in dynamic, motile regions of cells.     

The effect of tenascin and embryonic basal lamina on the behavior and morphology of neural crest cells in vitro

We have investigated the morphology and migratory behavior of quail neural crest cells on isolated embryonic basal laminae or substrata coated with fibronectin or tenascin. Each of these substrata have been implicated in directing neural crest cell migration in situ. We also observed the altered behavior of cells in response to the addition of tenascin to the culture medium independent of its effect as a migratory substratum. On tenascin-coated substrata, the rate of neural crest cell migration from neural tube explants was significantly greater than on uncoated tissue culture plastic, on fibronectin-coated plastic, or on basal lamina isolated from embryonic chick retinae. Neural crest cells on tenascin were rounded and lacked lamellipodia, in contrast to the flattened cells seen on basal lamina and fibronectin-coated plastic. In contrast, when tenascin was added to the culture medium of neural crest cells migrating on isolated basal lamina, a significant reduction in the rate of cell migration was observed. To study the nature of this effect, we used human melanoma cells, which have a number of characteristics in common with quail neural crest cells though they would be expected to have a distinct family of integrin receptors. A dose-dependent reduction in the rate of translocation was observed when tenascin was added to the culture medium of the human melanoma cell line plated on isolated basal laminae, indicating that the inhibitory effect of tenascin bound to the quail neural crest surface is probably not solely the result of competitive inhibition by tenascin for the integrin receptor. Our results show that tenascin can be used as a migratory substratum by avian neural crest cells and that tenascin as a substratum can stimulate neural crest cell migration, probably by permitting rapid detachment. Tenascin in the medium, on the other hand, inhibits both the migration rates and spreading of motile cells on basal lamina because it binds only the cell surface and not the underlying basal lamina. Cell surface-bound tenascin may decrease cell-substratum interactions and thus weaken the tractional forces generated by migrating cells. This is in contrast to the action of fibronectin, which when added to the medium stimulates cell migration by binding both to neural crest cells and the basal lamina, thus providing a bridge between the motile cells and the substratum.     

Use of biocarrier beads and flow cytometry for single-cell studies of fibronectin gene regulation in dibutyryl cyclic AMP reverse transformed CHO-K1 cells

The protease sensitivity of a number of cell surface or cytoskeletal components and the relationship of these to the substratum in attached cells has prevented the quantitative measurement of their expression by flow cytometry. Using traditional cell sorting techniques, cells must be treated with a protease to detach them from a substrate in order to produce a single-cell suspension. Unfortunately, proteolytic treatment alters or destroys a number of cellular proteins. Fibronectin either on the cell surface or as part of the substratum laid down by the cell is particularly sensitive to proteases, preventing its quantitative study by flow cytometry. To circumvent these problems and produce a single cell suspension necessary for flow cytometric analysis, CHO-K1, a Chinese hamster ovary cell line, were grown in suspension on specially-treated 25 microns biocarrier beads. The CHO-K1 cell line is composed of transformed epithelial-like cells that have lost the fibronectin deposit around their cell membranes. To restore the typical fibroblastic deposit of fibronectin, the cells attached to beads were induced by dibutyryl cAMP to undergo a reverse transformation reaction to restore fibroblastic morphology and the typical fibroblastic deposite of fibronectin on the cell surface and substratum. The cells attached to beads were then immunofluorescently labeled for the protease-sensitive, extracellular matrix component, fibronectin, and examined on a flow cytometer. Cell surface fibronectin heterogeneity was then examined on a cell-by-cell basis as a function of cell cycle using Hoechst 33342 dye that binds to AT base pairs of cellular DNA. Dual laser measurement and multiparameter list mode data analysis were used to study the relationship between cell surface fibronectin of biocarrier bead attached cells and cell cycle.     

Use of biocarrier beads and flow cytometry for single-cell studies of fibronectin gene regulation in dibutyrl cyclic AMP reverse transformed CHO-K1 cells

The protease sensitivity of a number of cell surface or cytoskeletal components and the relationship of these to the substratum in attached cells has prevented the quantitative measurement of their expression by flow cytometry. Using traditional cell sorting techniques, cells must be treated with a protease to detach them from a substrate in order to produce a single-cell suspension. Unfortunately, proteolytic treatment alters or destroys a number of cellular proteins. Fibronectin either on the cell surface or as part of the substratum laid down by the cell is particularly sensitive to proteases, preventing its quantitative study by flow cytometry. To circumvent these problems and produce a single cell suspension necessary for flow cytometric analysis, CHO-K1, a Chinese hamster ovary cell line, were grown in suspension on specially-treated 25 μm biocarrier beads. The CHO-K1 cell line is composed of transformed epithelial-like cells that have lost the fibronectin deposit around their cell membranes. To restore the typical fibroblastic deposit of fibronectin, the cells attached to beads were induced by dibutyrl cAMP to undergo a reverse transformation reaction to restore fibroblastic morphology and the typical fibroblastic deposite of fibronectin on the cell surface and substratum. The cells attached to beads were then immunofluorescently labeled for the protease-sensitive, extracellular matrix component, fibronectin, and examined on a flow cytometer. Cell surface fibronectin heterogeneity was then examined on a cell-by-cell basis as a function of cell cycle using Hoechst 33342 dye that binds to AT base pairs of cellular DNA. Dual laser measurement and multiparameter list mode data analysis were used to study the relationship between cell surface fibronectin of biocarrier bead attached cells and cell cycle.     

Receptor-mediated formation of multilayer aggregates of primary cultured adult rat hepatocytes on lactose-substituted polystyrene.

We used a lactose-substituted polystyrene, poly-N-p-vinylbenzyl-D-lactonamide (PVLA), as a substratum for adult rat hepatocytes in primary culture. Spherical-shaped hepatocytes attached on PVLA substratum formed stable multilayer aggregates anchored on substratum through the stimulation of epidermal growth factor (EGF). The cells required calcium ion essentially to form the aggregates. The formation of multilayer aggregates was inhibited by colchicine, but not by cytochalasin B. The inhibition was also observed by added PVLA molecules in the culture medium and by treating surfaces of PVLA-coated dishes with allo A lectin. It was suggested that adult rat hepatocytes attached on PVLA substratum required the specific interaction between asialoglycoprotein receptors on the cell surface and PVLA substratum to form anchored multilayer aggregates.     

The ciliate epibiont Epistylis pygmaeum: selection for zooplankton hosts, reproduction and effect on two rotifers

1. A clonal culture of the peritrich Epistylis pygmaeum was used for all observations and experiments. Motile cells preferentially attached to the eggs of three species of Brachionus but also attached to the body of adult B. angularis. Zooids on the transitory egg substratum developed only short stalks, while those on the body often developed long stalks and branched colonies. Selection for the eggs positions the ciliate near the cloaca, and thus high concentrations of fine particulate material excreted by the host. Settlement on eggs occurred equally well in the light and dark, and on moving and stationary eggs. 2. Motile Epistylis cells attached to a wide variety of rotifer and crustacean zooplankton, but exhibited some pronounced selectivity. They readily settled on the eggs of other rotifers (Epiphanes, Polyarthra), on the carapace of several cladocerans (Ceriodaphnia, Daphnia, Diaphanosoma), and on the egg sacs of a copepod (Tropocyclops). They settled less readily on the bodies of the rotifers Asplanchna and Synchaeta, and rarely or never settled on the rotifer Keratella, the cladocerans Bosmina and Scapholeberis, and the body of the copepod. 3. Epistylis populations initiated with a single zooid on Brachionus increased exponentially and often contained several hundred attached zooids and motile cells after 3 days at 20 °C. Observations of a culture initiated from a single telotroch provided new information about peritrich life cycles: (1) motile cells reproduced themselves at a rapid rate (λ = 4.26 day^?1); (2) telotrochs produced or transformed into swimming zooids and vice versa. Functions of the two types of motile cells remain to be clarified. Telotrochs likely are specialised for finding and attaching to hosts. Swimming zooids can feed and reproduce, producing both their own cell type and telotrochs. Together, they should enhance dispersal and population growth, especially when hosts are rare. 4. Life‐table experiments with two species of Brachionus showed that colonisation by Epistylis had no effect on adult survival but significantly decreased fecundity, by 29% in both cases. Zooids attached to eggs could be a weight burden, increase drag, and possibly inhibit egg development. Those on the body of B. angularis also could interfere with coronal cilia, inhibiting feeding and further slowing locomotion. The ability of E. pygmaeum to select and then interfere with its hosts indicates that this epibiont has the potential to influence the species structure of zooplankton communities.     

Proteins excreted by primary human colon carcinoma cells (SW 480) promote spreading and growth of metastatic human colon carcinoma cells (SW 620) in serum-free medium

The growth behavior of the two human colon tumor cell lines (SW 480, primary and SW 620, metastatic), originating from the same patient, was studied in six different serum-free media (SFM) [GF3, Chee's essential medium plus insulin, transferrin and selenium; GF3F, GF3 plus fetuin; GF4, GF3 plus linoleic acid-BSA; GF5, GF4 plus fetuin; GF5E, GF5 plus EGF; GF5T, GF5 plus triiodothyronine]. SW 480 grew in all of the SFM. In contrast, SW 620 grew only in four SFM. The cells did not grow in GF3 and GF4. When grown in SFM, SW 480 attached much more firmly to the dishes than SW 620 as determined by the time required to detach the cells with trypsin-EDTA (SW 480, greater than 20 min and SW 620, less than 5 min). It was speculated that SW 480 cells excrete proteins in SFM which influence attachment and growth of the cells. Growth behavior of SW 480 cells which did not grow in GF3, was studied using GF3 medium and SW 480 substratum dishes. SW 620 cells readily attached to the SW 480 substratum dishes and grew. Furthermore, when SW 620 cells were grown on substratum prepared from serum-supplemented medium incubated in the absence of cells (serum substratum), the cell growth was comparable to the cell growth on SW 480 substratum in GF3. Substratum from SW 480 cells and the serum substratum were compared for their components using SDS-PAGE system. The SW 480 substratum contains many more components than serum substratum. A protein band at 60 kD appears to be common in both SW 480 and serum substrata.     

Growth of three established cell lines on glass microcarriers

Three established cell lines were examined for growth on a newly developed microcarrier which consists of glass beads. The cells were simultaneously exmined for growth on commercially available microcarriers made from DEAE-dextran and from plastic. Cell yields on the glass microcarriers were comparble to the cell yields on the commercially available products. Cells grown on the glass microcarriers were easily separated from the substratum by trypsinization (as were the cells grown on the plastic substratum) while the cells grown on the DEAE-dextran particles were much more trypsin resistant. After removal of cells from the glass microcarriers, the cells reattached and spread out in plastic flasks as readily as cells harvested from monolayer. Scanning electron microscopy revealed dramatic differences in the appearence of the cell grown on the glass microcarriers and cells grown on the DEAE-dextran microcarriers. On the glass microcarriers, cells attached to the substratum through lond, slender filopodia while on the DEAE-dextran microcarriers, the entire edge of the cell appeared to be in contact with the substratum. This dissimilarity in attachment could underly the difference in sensitivity to trypsin-mediated detachment. Finally, the glass microcarriers were washed after being used once and retested for their ability to support cell growth a second time. Nearly identical results were obtained with the reprocessed beads as with previously unused ones.     

Mesosecrin: a secreted glycoprotein produced in abundance by human mesothelial, endothelial, and kidney epithelial cells in culture

Human mesothelial cells, endothelial cells, and type II kidney epithelial cells growing in culture devote approximately 3% of their total protein synthesis to the production of an Mr approximately 46-kD, pI 7.1, secreted glycoprotein (designated Sp46). Fibroblasts make about 1/10th as much Sp46 as these cell types, and their synthesis is dependent upon hydrocortisone. Keratinocytes, urothelial cells, conjunctival epithelial cells, and mammary epithelial cells do not make detectable amounts of Sp46. Mesothelial cells secrete Sp46 onto the substratum, and from there it is subsequently released into the medium. Immunofluorescence analysis using specific antisera discloses that Sp46 is deposited beneath cells as a fine coating on the substratum. In sparse cultures, Sp46 is detected in trails behind motile cells. In contrast, secreted fibronectin coalesces into fibers, most of which remain in contact with and on top of the cells; thus Sp46 does not preferentially bind to fibronectin. About 6 kD of the mass of human Sp46 is N-linked oligosaccharide, which is terminally sialated before secretion. Sp46 has a low glycine content, indicating that it is not a collagenlike protein. Its NH2-terminal sequence over the first 40 amino acids does not resemble any protein for which sequence information is available. Sp46 appears to be a novel extracellular glycoprotein, high-level constitutive expression of which is restricted to mesoderm-derived epithelial and endothelial cells. We therefore propose for it the name "mesosecrin."     

Interaction of pathogenic bacteria with rabbit appendix M cells: bacterial motility is a key feature in vivo

Rabbit appendix consists mainly of lymphoid follicles (LF) covered by M cells, the specialized antigen-sampling cells of the mucosal immune system, and surrounded by glandular epithelium. Until now, these M cells have been characterized morphologically and histologically by using cellular markers. Here, the adhesion and transport of pathogenic bacteria were investigated to assess the function of M cells of the appendix. We used the enteroinvasive motile Salmonella typhimurium and the rabbit enteropathogenic non-motile Escherichia coli RDEC-1, which are known to target specifically rabbit M cells of Peyer's patches (PPs). We found that S. typhimurium efficiently attached and was transported through appendix M cells in vivo. In contrast to S. typhimurium, RDEC-1 targeted M cells only ex vivo, when bacteria were allowed to have direct contact with the surface of the follicle. The difference in interaction of the two bacteria with appendix M cells led us to investigate whether this could be correlated with the lack of motility of RDEC-1. We used an aflagellate mutant of S. typhimurium and found that it had the same infection phenotype as RDEC-1. Gene complementation restored the efficiency of infection to that of S. typhimurium wild-type strain. In conclusion, we show that M cells of the appendix display features of the canonical M cells of PP, since they efficiently sample luminal pathogenic bacteria. However, due to the morphology of the appendix, motile bacteria appear to be more potent in their interactions with appendix M cells.     

A ground-based model to study the effects of weightlessness on lymphocytes

The mitogenic response of human lymphocytes was found to be markedly reduced in weightlessness conditions as compared to normal gravity. One possible explanation is that due to the non-existent sedimentation in space the lymphocytes could not adhere and spread on a substratum. Thus, we investigated the effect of substratum adhesiveness on lymphocyte responsiveness by reducing and blocking cell adhesion with poly-HEMA in a simple on-ground system. Lymphocyte adhesiveness was assessed by measuring the proportion of non-adhesive, slightly, and strongly adhesive 51Cr-radiolabelled cells on uncoated and poly-HEMA coated plastic. The amount of cell spreading on surfaces with varying adhesiveness was determined by measuring the area of cells. Cells grown on medium and thick poly-HEMA films were rounded in shape. By contrast, on tissue culture plastic, they showed clear signs of spreading. The mitogenic response of lymphocytes grown on thick poly-HEMA films was reduced by up to 68% of the control (tissue culture plastic). Interferon-gamma production was virtually nil when the cells were grown on the least adhesive substratum. These results show that activated lymphocytes need to anchor and spread prior to achieving an optimal proliferation response. We conclude that decreased lymphocyte adhesion could contribute to the depressed in vitro lymphocyte responsiveness found in the microgravity conditions of space flight.     

Ponticulin plays a role in the positional stabilization of pseudopods

Ponticulin is a 17-kD glycoprotein that represents a major high affinity link between the plasma membrane and the cortical actin network of Dictyostelium. To assess the role of ponticulin in pseudopod extension and retraction, the motile behavior of two independently generated mutants lacking ponticulin was analyzed using computer- assisted two- and three-dimensional motion analysis systems. More than half of the lateral pseudopods formed off the substratum by ponticulin- minus cells slipped relative to the substratum during extension and retraction. In contrast, all pseudopods formed off the substratum by wild-type cells were positionally fixed in relation to the substratum. Ponticulin-minus cells also formed a greater proportion of both anterior and lateral pseudopods off the substratum and absorbed a greater proportion of lateral pseudopods into the uropod than wild-type cells. In a spatial gradient of cAMP, ponticulin-minus cells were less efficient in tracking the source of chemoattractant. Since ponticulin- minus cells extend and retract pseudopods with the same time course as wild-type cells, these behavioral defects in ponticulin-minus cells appear to be the consequence of pseudopod slippage. These results demonstrate that pseudopods formed off the substratum by wild-type cells are positionally fixed in relation to the substratum, that ponticulin is required for positional stabilization, and that the loss of ponticulin and the concomitant loss of positional stability of pseudopods correlate with a decrease in the efficiency of chemotaxis.     

Fibronectin and polylysine requirement for proliferation of neuroblastoma cells in defined medium

We have demonstrated in this study that we could eliminate the requirement of a serum preincubation for proliferation of B104 neuroblastoma cells in defined medium. When cells were plated directly into serum-free defined medium after trypsin or EGTA detachment, they had no difficulty in adhering or remaining attached to the plastic substratum but were incapable of cell division. However, the addition of human plasma fibronectin to serum-free defined medium and precoating the tissue culture dishes with polylysine at each subculture permitted cell division to occur. Fibronectin was only required at the time of subculture and did not need to be replenished at each medium change. In addition, we have shown that clonal growth and serial subculture are possible in serum-free defined medium provided that the cell inoculum encounters the appropriate substratum. These findings are consistent with a role for fibronectin and a positively charged substratum in the growth regulation of B104 neuroblastoma cells. This completely defined culture system will be of great benefit in studying the growth regulation and differentiation of these neuronal cells.     

A quantitative microwell assay for chondrocyte cell adhesion

An assay for measuring the quantity of live articular chondrocytes attached to a substratum in microwell plates was established by measuring the absorbance of the blue formazan product generated from the dye 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-dypenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT). Blue formazan production was optimal at an MTT concentration of 1 mg/ml (100 microliters per microwell) and an incubation period of 3 h. The absorbance of the dye was linearly related to the quantity of cells added per microwell. The number of live chondrocytes attached to adhesive proteins can be quantitated using this technique.     

Method of determining the activity of cell suspensions as determined by their natural motility

A new method and setup for determination of motile cell suspension activity are offered. A possibility of measuring the activity with regard to the quota of motile cells and their mean velocity has been shown. Bovine sperm in two diluents was applied as a test object.     

Adhesion of algal cells to surfaces

This paper reports the cell–substratum interactions of planktonic (Chlorella vulgaris) and benthic (Botryococcus sudeticus) freshwater green algae with hydrophilic (glass) and hydrophobic (indium tin oxide) substrata to determine the critical parameters controlling the adhesion of algal cells to surfaces. The surface properties of the algae and substrata were quantified by measuring contact angle, electrophoretic mobility, and streaming potential. Using these data, the cell–substratum interactions were modeled using thermodynamic, DLVO, and XDLVO approaches. Finally, the rate of attachment and the strength of adhesion of the algal cells were quantified using a parallel-plate flow chamber. The results indicated that (1) acid–base interactions played a critical role in the adhesion of algae, (2) the hydrophobic alga attached at a higher density and with a higher strength of adhesion on both substrata, and (3) the XDLVO model was the most accurate in predicting the density of cells and their strength of adhesion. These results can be used to select substrata to promote/inhibit the adhesion of algal cells to surfaces.     

A novel index for analysing the response of a microbial culture to changes in the environmental variables during cultivation

AIMS: To analyse the sensitivity of a microbial culture to variations in the cultivation conditions by using the motile intensity of the cells. METHODS AND RESULTS: Batch cultures of Bacillus thuringiensis were used to study the sensitivity of the cells to pulse changes in pH, temperature and oxygen supply. A droplet of the culture sample was visualized under an optical microscope and the image of the moving cells was captured with a computer controlled display camera attached to the microscope. Motile intensity was computed directly using an image analysis programme. The results showed that the different phases of cell growth exhibited different motile intensities. The motile intensity changed remarkably at the high level of the motile intensity, when the environmental variables are changed. CONCLUSIONS: The product formation was considerably reduced when a disturbance was applied at the high magnitude of motile intensity. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF STUDY: Monitoring the motile intensity by image analysis is simple and makes it an attractive method for assessing the effect of environmental variables on the growth and product formation of microbial cultures.     

Protein content of peptidoglycan of liquid-grown cells differs from that of surface-grown,gliding Cytophaga johnsonae

The peptidoglycan sacculi of surface-grown Cytophaga johnsonae had associated with them a large amoutn of protein (the major species is 50 kDa) whereas sacculi from liquid-grown cells had little or no attached protein. The 50 kDa protein was localized in the outer membrane of liquid-grown cells. A portion of this membrane-derived 50 kDa protein was attached to the peptidoglycan only when the cells made contact with the substratum. Protein synthesis did not appear to be required for attachment as the process was not inhibited by chloramphenicol. Association of the 50 kDa protein with the peptidoglycan in response to cell contact with the substratum is suggested.