Effect of the composition of the growth medium on morphology and reproduction ofAzotobacter chroococcum

Summary The growth of threeAzotobacter chroococcum strains was investigated in a number of media. The cultures were incubated at 29°C. and studied by means of a Wild phase contrast microscope. The experiments have clearly demonstrated that the morphology and reproduction ofA. chroococcum are influenced greatly on the one hand by conditions of nutrition and on the other hand also by the properties of the strains. Although all strains used in this work were able to produce gonidia and regenerative rods, these were not found in all media. The formation of filamentous cells, and vegetative cells inside such cells, depended also on the medium and, in some cases, on the strain. Cysts could sometimes resist a temperature of 50°C. for 5.5 minutes, but not a single strain with cysts survived temperatures of 60°C. or higher. Spores could not be detected by the usual staining methods.     

CYTOPATHIC EFFECT OF THE ATYPICAL PNEUMONIA ORGANISM IN CULTURES OF HUMAN TISSUE.

Eaton, Monroe D. (Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.), Ann E. Farnham, Jeana D. Levinthal, and Anthony R. Scala. Cytopathic effect of the atypical pneumonia organism in cultures of human tissue. J. Bacteriol. 84:1330-1337. 1962.-Three strains of the atypical pneumonia agent were adapted to grow in continuous cell cultures of human amnion or human embryonic lung, with production of initial increased acidity followed by destruction of the cells. Evidence is presented that cytopathic effects of the organism were associated with intracellular growth and formation of microcolonies. Clumps of organisms stained specifically with fluorescein-labeled antibody, and showed distinctive tinctorial reactions with the May Grünwald-Giemsa stain. The cytopathic effect was prevented by fresh serum from a rabbit immunized with an egg-passage strain of the atypical pneumonia agent. Heating the immune serum to 56 C for 30 min abolished the neutralizing effect. The significance of heat-labile serum constituents in killing or inhibition of mycoplasma is discussed.