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. 1987 Oct;53(10):2500–2504. doi: 10.1128/aem.53.10.2500-2504.1987

Spontaneous Disaggregation of Methanosarcina mazei S-6 and Its Use in the Development of Genetic Techniques for Methanosarcina spp

Jane E Harris 1
PMCID: PMC204136  PMID: 16347467

Abstract

When monomethylamine was the growth substrate, spontaneous disaggregation of Methanosarcina mazei S-6 commenced at the mid-exponential phase and resulted in the formation of a suspension containing 108 to 109 free cells per ml. Free cells were osmotically fragile and amenable to extraction of DNA. Hypertonic media for the manipulation and regeneration of free cells into aggregates were developed, and plating efficiencies of 100% were achieved for M. mazei S-6 and LYC. Free cells of strain S-6 required MgCl2 (10 mM) for growth, whereas aggregates did not. Specific growth rates of strains S-6 and LYC were increased by MgCl2. Treatment with pronase caused sphere formation and removal of the protein wall of cells of strain S-6, but protoplasts could not be regenerated. The disaggregating enzyme produced by strain S-6 facilitated the preparation of suspensions of free cells of some strains of Methanosarcina barkeri. Although this provided a means of extracting high-molecular-weight DNA from M. barkeri, less than 0.1% of free cells were viable.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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