Abstract
Gluconacetobacter xylinum strain BPR2001 is a gram-negative bacterium and secretes cellulose as an extracellular polysaccaride. In this study, effects of cell wall on cellulose ribbon assembly of the bacteria were examined by electron microscopy. BPR2001 was cultivated in a medium contained fructose as a carbon source and incubated on the cupper mesh at 30C for 1 h before negative staining using 1.5% uranium acetate, and was examined by electron microscope. In this method, we could detected several stages of cellulose ribbon assembly from microfibrils. In order to examine the effect of cell wall on the cellulose ribbon assembly, BPR2001 was incubated with 2 mg/ml lysozeme on the mesh before staining and observed. In BPR2001 incubated with lysozyme some cellulose microfibrils assembled but they were loose suggesting that the cell wall or a factor in the cell wall was involved in the cellulose assembly in G. xylinum.
