[Cell wall of pigmentless variants of Staphylococcus aureus]

Physico-chemical properties and chemical composition of the cell wall of pigmentless variants B-3 and B-6 differ from those of the parent strain of Staphylococcus aureus 209-P. As to morphology, the wall is more thick and loose. The mutants differ also by the phagotype, the ability for sorption of acridine orange, and the rate of sedimentation of cell suspensions. The properties of teichoic acids and the content of peptides in peptidoglycan change in the cell wall of the mutants.