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Updated: Jul 29, 2026

Single-cell Analysis of Bacillus subtilis Biofilms Using Fluorescence Microscopy and Flow Cytometry
Published on: February 15, 2012
Cell wall turnover at the hemispherical caps of Bacillus subtilis
Abstract:
Cell walls made by Bacillus subtilis bacteria grown in D(2)O medium have buoyant densities in CsCl which are different from walls made by cells grown in H(2)O medium. Cell wall turnover was studied by measuring the change in wall buoyant density after a B. subtilis culture was shifted from growth in D(2)O medium to aeration in H(2)O medium. Walls from the hemispherical caps were isolated after preferential digestion of wall from the cylindrical regions using the B. subtilis autolytic amidase. The walls from the polar regions were found to turn over extensively.
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