Cellular organization of Bacillus subtilis: sodium dodecyl sulfate-induced cell partitioning into zebra structures

Cells of Bacillus subtilis heated in high concentrations of sodium dodecyl sulfate (5%) and then washed free of detergent with a hot salt solution (80 C) become structurally reorganized into regions of densely compacted cytoplasm (termed zebras) and regions of sparsely filled material (termed spaces). Size distribution studies of zebras indicate that division-suppressed mutants and wild-type cells both yield zebras of comparable length. Similarly the lengths of zebras found in populations emerging from spores are uniform in one-, two-, three-, and four-zebra-containing cells. In contrast, the length of spaces is slightly larger than that of zebras and is unusually large in two-zebra-containing cells. The locations of zebras and spaces along cell length have been studied in spore out-growth populations. A statistical procedure developed previously in genome location investigations was used to analyze the location of zebras along cell length. The data indicate that as cells elongate, new sites arise where the cell contents are strongly bound to the cell surface. Within filament populations produced by division-suppressed mutants there is a linear relationship of mean filament length and zebra number per filament. These data indicate that cytoplasm in filaments with no obvious structural compartmentalizations may be organized into units associated with particular regions of cell surface. The attachment of cell contents to the cell surface may involve deoxyribonucleic acid. Zebra-containing cells digested with proteolytic enzyme and ribonuclease are converted to cells that contain a crystalline-like granule fixed at the location of each zebra. Exposure to deoxyribonuclease mobilizes these granules within the cell wall.