Intracellular structures in Caulobacter vibrioides.

In a recent communication (Grula et al., 1954), it was demonstrated that inorganic phosphate was involved in the genesis of the electronopaque granules observed in Caulobacter vibrioides. However, it was not shown whether the phosphate was involved in the synthesis of ribonucleic acid, desoxyribonucleic acid, or metaphosphate. Each of the three compounds has been reported as the main constituent in what appear to be similar granules in several different organisms. Hartman and Liu (1954) implicated ribonucleoprotein in yeast cytoplasmic cell granules. Knaysi et al. (1950) observed that desoxyribonuclease digestion decreased the staining potential of such granules in an avian strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Konig and Winkler (1948) reported the presence of calcium phosphate and nucleic acid in Spirillum volutans, whereas Ruska et al. (1952) implicated metaphosphate in Mycobacteria. This paper reports further studies on the chemical nature of the granules and vacuoles of C. vibrioides.