Morphology, Antigenicity, and Nucleic Acid Content of the Bacteroides sp. Used in the Culture of Entamoeba histolytica

Abstract

Albach, Richard A. (Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge, Ill.), James G. Shaffer, and Robert H. Watson . Morphology, antigenicity, and nucleic acid content of the Bacteroides sp. used in the culture of Entamoeba histolytica . J. Bacteriol. 90: 1045–1053. 1965.—Certain changes in morphology, antigenicity, and nucleic acid content that occur in a culture of Bacteroides sp. in the presence of penicillin G in CLG medium are described. This “variant” is one of seven recovered in several laboratories, all of which are descendants of the original Bacteroides isolated by Shaffer and Frye. Penicillin-inhibited cells of this culture are currently being used in the routine propagation of Entamoeba histolytica in CLG medium. Evidence is presented for the loss of ability to react with antibody in these penicillin-inhibited bacteria in CLG medium, when studied by fluorescent-antibody techniques. The implications of the antigenic changes observed as they pertain to similar antigenic studies of the amoebas are discussed. A pronounced reduction in the ribonucleic acid (RNA) content of such penicillin-inhibited cells was also observed. The potential importance of the changes that occur in the RNA of these cells with respect to considerations of the growth requirements of the amoebas is also discussed.