FORMATION OF RESTING CELLS IN MICROBIAL SUSPENSIONS UNDERGOING AUTOLYSIS

Under experimentally selected conditions favoring spontaneous or induc ed autolysis of cell suspensions, the asporogenous bacteria Escherichi a coli and Methylococcus capsulatus, the bacilli Bacillus cereus (unde r conditions of suppressed sporulation), and the yeast Saccharomyces c erevisiae were shown to be capable of forming cystlike resting cells. Their number was influenced by (1) cell density in the suspensions; (2 ) the presence of Ca2+ ions in nutrient-limited medium; (3) medium pH; and (4) autolysis rate, dependent on the concentration of oleic acid (a chemical analogue of the autolysis-inducing d(2) factor) introduced into the cell suspensions.