Passive electrical properties of microorganisms. IV. Studies of the protoplasts of Micrococcus lysodeikticus.
Observations of protoplasts of Micrococcus lysodeikticus show that removal of the cell wall of this organism decreases the dielectric constant by two orders of magnitude. The upper limit of the effective, homogeneous conductivity for the protoplast is 0.001 mho/m as compared with 0.045 mho/m for the intact cell. These results conclusively demonstrate the dominant effect of the cell wall on the low frequency dielectric properties of bacteria.
D002473:Cell Wall / Q000502:physiology; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D004594:Electrophysiology; D008837:Micrococcus / Q000502:physiology*; D008858:Microscopy, Phase-Contrast; D011523:Protoplasts / Q000502:physiology*