Shape changes in Escherichia coli B/r A during agar filtration

We have investigated the phenomenon of shape distortion in a sample of 1,552 Escherichia coli B/r A cells in balanced exponential growth, during preparation for electron microscopy by agar filtration. Mixed preparations of bacterial cells and polystyrene latex spheres were shadow cast at low angle and the resulting shadows used to obtain quantitative estimates for the dimensions of the dehydrated cell; these then serve as a basis for a model of its shape in three dimensions. A statistical analysis of the projections of clustered cells and the intervening fissures, in nonshadow‐cast preparations, provides an estimate of the effects of drying. The average width of the dehydrated cell (450 nm) is about 20 nm greater than the diameter of the live bacterium, whereas its length (1,398 nm) is ∼ 40 nm less. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.