Cellular Growth without a Murein Sacculus — the Nucleoid-Associated Compartmentation Concept

Cell wall-less bacterial strains, isolated by experimental treatment from normal bacteria, are designated as L-forms. Several of them are genetically stable organisms showing extreme pleotropic changes in their properties. During numerous years of cultivation, some L-form strains could be adapted to grow in media without supplements of serum or additional osmotic stabilizers (Gilpin and Patterson, 1976; Gumpert and Taubeneck, 1983; Leon and Panos, 1976; Madoff, 1986).