Organization of mesosomes in fixed and unfixed cells

Abstract

After the addition of glutaraldehyde (GA) to Streptococcus faecalis cells incubated at 3 or 37°C, mesosomes were observed with increasing frequencies in freeze fractures of cells. These increases were related to the kinetics with which GA cross linked adjacent amino acids. Upon the addition of GA, mesosomes were first observed in the periphery of freeze fractured cells usually attached to septal membranes. However, with time, while the septal attachment sites were maintained, the 'bodies' of the mesosomes were observed to move toward the center of the cytoplasm. This centralization process was much more rapid at 37 than at 3°C. It is hypothesized that upon fixation, or receipt of some physical insult, mesosome precursors found in undisturbed cells undergo a change in state that results in their visibility in freeze fractures.