抄録
Cells of Vibrio cholerae, strain Inaba, actively growing in a hypertonic sucrose-broth were exposed to penicillin (5-1, 000u/ml), glycine (0.5-3%) or lithium chloride (1.0-2.5%). Most cells were converted to osmotically fragile spheroplasts within 1 to 3 hours. The process of the spheroplast formation in V. cholerae as followed by the electron microscope was similar to that observed in the other Gram-negative bacteria. Penicillin-induced spheroplasts were generally larger than those arising by use of other agents.
The spheroplasts retained their single flagellum and displayed active movements for a long period. Both the motility and viability of glycine- and LiClinduced spheroplasts were preserved considerably longer than those from penicillin.
When aerated cultures were placed under semianaerobic conditions by stopping the aeration, a few cells were spontaneously converted to spheroidal forms.
