ULTRASTRUCTURE OF MYCOPLASMA SPECIES

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Abstract
The ultrastructure of 19 strains (15 species) of Mycoplasmatales grown on solid medium was studied with the aid of an electron microscope. The cells possessed a triple-layered limiting membrane 75 to 100 A thick. This membrane appeared to be symmetrical in some strains and asymmetrical in others. An electron-dense material found in close contact with the cell surface was tentatively interpreted to be a capsular substance. Ribosomes and strands of nuclear material were observed in the cytoplasm of cells of all strains. Ribosomes observed in the JA strain of M. gallisepticum were frequently arranged in a regular geometric pattern of characteristic appearance. Dense inclusions sometimes limited by triple-layered membranes (possibly developing elementary bodies), as well as membrane-surrounded vesicles, were observed in the cytoplasm of cells of some strains.