ABSTRACT
Adaptation of Mycoplasma gallisepticum to unfavorable growth conditions results in altered morphological and physiological characteristics of the cells. M. gallisepticum populations in a complete nutrient medium contain pear-shaped vegetative cells (d approximately 0.3 microm; l approximately 0.8 microm) with pronounced polar and cytoskeleton-like structures. Such mycoplasma cells are able to induce damage in a bacterial genome, causing an SOS response of the test strain (Escherichia coli PQ37). In a starvation medium, M. gallisepticum produces nanoforms, small coccoid cells (d approximately 0.15-0.2 microm) without either polar or cytoskeleton-like structures. Unlike vegetative cells, nanoforms do not induce genome damage. Alleviation of unfavorable growth conditions results in a reversion of nanoforms to typical vegetative cells.
