Streptococcal L forms. II. Chemical composition.

Suspension of a streptococcal L form in hypotonic solutions is accompanied by loss of viability and structural disintegration (Panos and Barkulis, 1959). Consequently, a variable amount of water soluble material is lost in employing hypotonic solutions for washing procedures and results in only a residue portion remaining. Analyses of such residues in terms of the chemical constituents of the intact L form may, therefore, lead to erroneous interpretations and conclusions. A paper from this laboratory has described the preservation of viability and structural integrity of an L form derived from a nontypable group A 3-hemolytic streptococcus suspended in 0.3 M hypertonic sucrose (Panos and Barkulis, 1959). This report describes experiments designed to measure the loss of nucleic acids from a streptococcal L form when distilled water is employed in lieu of a protective solute during washing procedures. The first chemical analyses of various components from this osmotically protected L form are also presented and the results compared to the parent streptococcus. Part of these results have been reported in preliminary form (Panos et al., 1959).