In vitro spheroplast and L-form induction within the pathogenic nocardiae.

Six strains of Nocardia asteroides, two strains of N. caviae, and two strains of N. braziliensis were grown in medium supplementted with glycine, lysozyme, D-cycloserine, glycine plus lysozyme, and glycine plus D-cycloserine. It was shown that three strains of N. asteroides, and two strains of N. caviae, readily formed spheroplasts and/or protoplasts when grown in the presence of glycine plus either lysozyme or D-cycloserine. This process was studied by both phase contrast microscopy and electron microscopy. The induced cultures were then plated on hypertonic medium for the isolation of L-forms. It was shown that the organisms differed greatly in their ability to produce spheroplasts and subsequently grew as L-forms or transitional-phase variants.