Effects of Treatment with Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate on the Ultrastructure of Escherichia Coli

An electron microscopy study has been made of the effects of dissolution of the plasma membrane of Escherichia coli with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) on the organization of the nucleoplasm and the cytoplasm. The alterations observed in time course experiments were related to absorbance changes and to release of macromolecules from the cells. As the cells became plasmolyzed, under the conditions used, the first visible effect of SDS was a collapse of the plasmolysis spaces. This was accompanied by a displacement of the nuclear material which then appeared in broad contact with the redeployed plasma membrane. This initial displacement of nuclear material to the cell border may indicate an association between the nucleoplasm and the plasma membrane. Upon further dissolution of the plasma membrane, the nuclear material receded from the cell margin and contracted into an axial filament. Meanwhile, the cytoplasm dissociated into an amorphous, Pronase-sensitive component and an electron-opaque, granular one sensitive to ribonuclease. The latter represented one continuous area of ribosomal structures surrounding the nucleoplasm, an organization which did not occur when the cells were inhibited with rifamycin before SDS treatment. During prolonged SDS interaction, approximately 65% of the cellular protein, 25% of the ribonucleic acid and 40% of the deoxyribonucleic acid were released from the cells concomitant with the disappearance of the amorphous cytoplasmic part, expansion of the ribosomal aggregate, and rearrangement of the nuclear material at the cell periphery. The observations support the contention that all ribosomal structures bear a direct relationship with the nucleoplasm.