At 82 h, continuous feed is stopped and the rate of base addition decreases to 0 ml/h while the remaining cellobiose is entirely consumed. The percentage of L-forms (○) present in the AR-13324 mw culture increases steadily after the feed is stopped until nearly all cells have transitioned. B) Cells at 82 hr, just before the feed is stopped. C) Cells at 90 hr (8 hours after

the feed is stopped), L-forms begin to form. D) Cells at 110 hr (28 hours after the feed is stopped), only L-forms are observed in the culture. Error bars represent one standard deviation, n = 3. Figure 3 TEM images of L-forms, spores and cells. TEM was used to obtain images of L-forms, spores and cells to compare their morphology and structure. The L-form population lacks a cell wall resulting in spherical or pleomorphic cell morphology (Figure 3 A and 3 B). The cell membrane (M) is visible,

and in many cases, a dark protrusion (D) of unknown function is observed (3B). Images of cells clearly show the cell wall (CW), and C. thermocellum’s JIB04 ic50 normal rod morphology (Figure 3 C and 3 D). Coccoid-looking cells in Figure 3 C are indicative of cells that were cross-sectioned across their diameter, but the cell wall structure is still easily recognized. The spore coat (SC) is also easily recognized as a BTK inhibitor solubility dmso several dense layers (Figure 3 D). During normal cultivation of C. thermocellum, L-forms are occasionally observed, but the clear transition rapidly following termination of feeding in continuous culture seemed to indicate a well-defined physiological response. Arrest of growth and metabolism following feeding termination was confirmed by HPLC analysis, showing that cellobiose was exhausted within

60 minutes and by the simultaneous cessation of base addition used for pH control (Figure 2, Panel A). No additional acetic acid, lactic acid, or ethanol was produced during this transition or after L-form formation (data not shown). Tau-protein kinase The complete transition into the L-form morphology occurred approximately 24 h after the feed was stopped (Figure 2, Panel D). Once the transition from rods to L-forms was complete, viability was determined by plating. Viable counts indicated that 108 CFU/ml cells remained viable in the culture at this initial time point, but that viability decreased with age (data not shown). The resulting colonies exhibited normal morphology, and all cells within the colonies were rod shaped when examined microscopically. This suggests that these L-forms were unstable, and able to revert back to the normal morphology once sufficient nutrients were supplied. To be certain the culture was free of contaminants, 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed on several single colonies obtained, and no such contaminants were found. Determination of heat tolerance Tolerance to 100°C was evaluated for preparations of spores, rod-shaped vegetative cells, and L-forms.