volutin

vol·u·tin   (vŏl'yə-tĭn, və-lōōt'n)    n.  A granular substance that stains easily with a basic dye and is often rich in phosphorus, found in the cytoplasm of various bacterial and fungal cells. [German, from New Latin (Spirillum) volūtāns, species of bacterium in which it was first found, from Latin volūtāns, present participle of volūtāre, to roll around, frequentative of volvere, to roll; see wel-2 in Indo-European roots.]

Main Entry: vo·lu·tin
Pronunciation: 'väl-y&-"tin, v&-'lüt-^&n
Function: noun
: a granular basophilic substancecontaining nucleic acids that is found especially in cells of microorganisms (as bacteria, yeast, and protozoans) and is believed to function as a phosphate reserve called also metachromatin