GROWTH STUDIES ON ARTHROBACTER GLOBIFORMIS

Abstract

Studies have been undertaken to establish the growth behavior of A. globi-formis in liquid media of different nutritional levels. It has been found that this organism exhibits a distinct morphological pattern during the growth cycle. Cells reached maximum size just prior to division and at this time the pleomorphic forms typical of the genus Arthrobacter were observed. In a simple basal salts medium cells doubled in size while in a complex synthetic medium an 8-to 10-fold increase in cell size was noted during the predivision lag. After the lag period successive divisions occurred with a gradual decrease in size until the cells finally reverted to the normal coccoid form.