Fine structural changes of Acetobacter suboxydans during growth in a defined medium.

Cytological differences were observed between stationary- and exponentialphase cells of Acetobacter suboxydans grown in a defined medium. Unstained cells observed with the light microscope just after entering the stationary phase differed from exponentially growing cells in that the former exhibited localized increases in density, particularly in the polar regions. Electron microscopy of thin sections revealed that early stationary-phase cells possessed predominantly polar complexes of intracytoplasmic membranes accompanied by polar increases in ribosomal material. When cultures were allowed to continue far into the stationary phase, cells contained extensive aggregations of membrane-like material as the predominant fine-structural feature. In contrast, thin sections of exponentially growing cells exhibited only occasional indications of intracytoplasmic membranes. Intracytoplasmic membranes heretofore have been observed only rarely in the heterotrophic Pseudomonadales.