The Effect of Lysozyme on Cell Wall Morphology in a Blue-green Alga, Cylindrospermum sp.

Abstract

SUMMARY: Electron micrographs of thin sections of the wall of a Cylindrospermum sp. treated with lysozyme show that layer 2 (intermediate layer) of the wall is removed. Hence this layer is composed of mucopolymer. This observation, and the previous reports that this layer is thickened in mature spores of a Cylindrospermum sp. and in vegetative cells of Oscillatoria princeps, suggest that mucopolymer determines wall strength and maintains cell shape.