Limited multiplication of Mycobacterium lepraemurium in parabiotic culture, as influenced by osmolarity of an alkaline-galactomannan medium

Kato, Laszlo (Institut de Microbiologie et d'Hygiène de l'Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada), and Bela Gozsy. Limited multiplication of Mycobacterium lepraemurium in parabiotic culture, as influenced by osmolarity of an alkaline-galactomannan medium. J. Bacteriol. 91:1859-1862. 1966.-Limited multiplication of Mycobacterium lepraemurium has been achieved in an alkaline (pH 8.4) galactomannan-containing medium, when cultivated alone or in parabiosis with a feeder strain, Torula minuta. Hyperosmolarity (NaCl, 2.0%) enhanced multiplication in both cases. With 2.0% NaCl in the medium, selective lysis of the feeder cells occurred, without damage to M. lepraemurium. Multiplication depends more on the physical properties (viscosity, hyperosmolarity, and alkaline pH) of the medium than on its chemical composition. The described conditions are proposed as a model for cultivation trials with other "apparently noncultivable" microorganisms.