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Bacterial Capsules pp 129–157Cite as

Visualization of the Bacterial Polysaccharide Capsule

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Part of the book series: Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology ((CT MICROBIOLOGY,volume 150))

Abstract

The capsule covers the surface of many species of bacteria living in oceans, fresh water, and soil. Capsules are also characteristically present in symbiotic and parasitic bacteria which grow in association with plants and animals (Dudman et al. 1977; Costerton et al. 1981). The term capsule is used here for the material composed of large molecular weight polysaccharide which is, in contrast to slimes, attached to the cell surface. Other terms for capsular material are exopolymers, glycocalyx (Geesey 1982), and extracellular polymeric substances (Bowles and Marsh 1982). Capsules can be characterized by their chemical composition, their physical properties, their physiologic activities affecting the cell’s growth and survival, their antigenicity, and, in molecular terms, by their expression (Kauffmann 1966; Orskov et al. 1977; Roberts et al. 1988) and gene structure (Roberts et al. 1986; Sutherland 1977; Troy 1979; Jann and Jann 1985).

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  1. Fox Chase Cancer Center, Institute for Cancer Research, 7701 Burholme Avenue, 19111, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    M. E. Bayer

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  1. M. E. Bayer
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  1. Max-Planck-Institut für Immunbiologie, Stübeweg 51, 7800, Freiburg, Germany

    Klaus Jann  & Barbara Jann  & 

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Bayer, M.E. (1990). Visualization of the Bacterial Polysaccharide Capsule. In: Jann, K., Jann, B. (eds) Bacterial Capsules. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, vol 150. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-74694-9_7

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