TURBIDITY OF SUSPENSIONS AND MORPHOLOGY OF RED HALOPHILIC BACTERIA AS INFLUENCED BY SODIUM CHLORIDE CONCENTRATION

Abstract

The optical densities of suspensions of cells of Halobacterium cutirubrum, H. halobium, or H. salinarium, grown in media containing 4.5 M sodium chloride, increase as the salt concentration of the suspending medium decreases, until a maximum is reached at about 2 M; below this concentration there is an abrupt decrease in optical density. The cells are rod shaped in 4.5 M salt and change, as the salt concentration decreases, through irregular transition forms to spheres; equal numbers of transition forms and spheres are present at the point of maximum turbidity, while spheres predominate at lower salt concentrations. Cells suspended in 3.0 M salt, although slightly swollen, are viable, but viability decreases rapidly with the more drastic changes in morphology at lower salt concentrations. Cells grown in the presence of iron are more resistant to morphological changes but follow the same sequence. Cells "fixed" with formaldehyde, at any point in the sequence, act as osmometers and do not rupture in distilled water although their volume increases 10–14 times. The results indicate that the red halophilic rods require a high sodium chloride content in their growth or suspending medium to maintain a rigid cell wall structure.