scholarly journals Cytoskeletal Asymmetrical Dumbbell Structure of a Gliding Mycoplasma, Mycoplasma gallisepticum, Revealed by Negative-Staining Electron Microscopy

2009 ◽  
Vol 191 (10) ◽  
pp. 3256-3264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daisuke Nakane ◽  
Makoto Miyata
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Mycoplasma Gallisepticum ◽  
Gliding Motility ◽  
Negative Staining ◽  
Mycoplasma Species ◽  
Membrane Protrusion ◽  
Cytoskeletal Structure ◽  
Avian Pathogen ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Protein Components

ABSTRACT Several mycoplasma species feature a membrane protrusion at a cell pole, and unknown mechanisms provide gliding motility in the direction of the pole defined by the protrusion. Mycoplasma gallisepticum, an avian pathogen, is known to form a membrane protrusion composed of bleb and infrableb and to glide. Here, we analyzed the gliding motility of M. gallisepticum cells in detail. They glided in the direction of the bleb at an average speed of 0.4 μm/s and remained attached around the bleb to a glass surface, suggesting that the gliding mechanism is similar to that of a related species, Mycoplasma pneumoniae. Next, to elucidate the cytoskeletal structure of M. gallisepticum, we stripped the envelopes by treatment with Triton X-100 under various conditions and observed the remaining structure by negative-staining transmission electron microscopy. A unique cytoskeletal structure, about 300 nm long and 100 nm wide, was found in the bleb and infrableb. The structure, resembling an asymmetrical dumbbell, is composed of five major parts from the distal end: a cap, a small oval, a rod, a large oval, and a bowl. Sonication likely divided the asymmetrical dumbbell into a core and other structures. The cytoskeletal structures of M. gallisepticum were compared with those of M. pneumoniae in detail, and the possible protein components of these structures were considered.

scholarly journals Identification of a 521-Kilodalton Protein (Gli521) Involved in Force Generation or Force Transmission for Mycoplasma mobile Gliding

2005 ◽  
Vol 187 (10) ◽  
pp. 3502-3510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shintaro Seto ◽  
Atsuko Uenoyama ◽  
Makoto Miyata
Keyword(s):  
Monoclonal Antibodies ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Peptide Bond ◽  
Gliding Motility ◽  
Force Generation ◽  
Mycoplasma Species ◽  
Membrane Protrusion ◽  
Force Transmission ◽  
Inhibitory Effects

ABSTRACT Several mycoplasma species are known to glide on solid surfaces such as glass in the direction of the membrane protrusion, but the mechanism underlying this movement is unknown. To identify a novel protein involved in gliding, we raised monoclonal antibodies against a detergent-insoluble protein fraction of Mycoplasma mobile, the fastest glider, and screened the antibodies for inhibitory effects on gliding. Five monoclonal antibodies stopped the movement of gliding mycoplasmas, keeping them on the glass surface, and all of them recognized a large protein in immunoblotting. This protein, named Gli521, is composed of 4,738 amino acids, has a predicted molecular mass of 520,559 Da, and is coded downstream of a gene for another gliding protein, Gli349, which is known to be responsible for glass binding during gliding. Edman degradation analysis indicated that the N-terminal region is processed at the peptide bond between the amino acid residues at positions 43 and 44. Analysis of gliding mutants isolated previously revealed that the Gli521 protein is missing in a nonbinding mutant, m9, where the gli521 gene is truncated by a nonsense mutation at the codon for the amino acid at position 1170. Immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy indicated that Gli521 localizes all around the base of the membrane protrusion, at the “neck,” as previously observed for Gli349. Analysis of the inhibitory effects of the anti-Gli521 antibody on gliding motility revealed that this protein is responsible for force generation or force transmission, a role distinct from that of Gli349, and also suggested conformational changes of Gli349 and Gli521 during gliding.

scholarly journals Identification of a 349-Kilodalton Protein (Gli349) Responsible for Cytadherence and Glass Binding during Gliding of Mycoplasma mobile

2004 ◽  
Vol 186 (5) ◽  
pp. 1537-1545 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsuko Uenoyama ◽  
Akiko Kusumoto ◽  
Makoto Miyata
Keyword(s):  
Monoclonal Antibody ◽  
Amino Acid ◽  
Immunofluorescence Microscopy ◽  
Immunoblot Analysis ◽  
Mycoplasma Species ◽  
Predicted Amino Acid Sequence ◽  
Membrane Protrusion ◽  
Large Protein ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Gliding Mechanism

ABSTRACT Several mycoplasma species are known to glide in the direction of the membrane protrusion (head-like structure), but the mechanism underlying this movement is entirely unknown. To identify proteins involved in the gliding mechanism, protein fractions of Mycoplasma mobile were analyzed for 10 gliding mutants isolated previously. One large protein (Gli349) was observed to be missing in a mutant m13 deficient in hemadsorption and glass binding. The predicted amino acid sequence indicated a 348,758-Da protein that was truncated at amino acid residue 1257 in the mutant. Immunofluorescence microscopy with a monoclonal antibody showed that Gli349 is localized at the head-like protrusion's base, which we designated the cell neck, and immunoelectron microscopy established that the Gli349 molecules are distributed all around this neck. The number of Gli349 molecules on a cell was estimated by immunoblot analysis to be 450 ± 200. The antibody inhibited both the hemadsorption and glass binding of M. mobile. When the antibody was used to treat gliding mycoplasmas, the gliding speed and the extent of glass binding were inhibited to similar extents depending on the concentration of the antibody. This suggested that the Gli349 molecule is involved not only in glass binding for gliding but also in movement. To explain the present results, a model for the mechanical cycle of gliding is discussed.

scholarly journals Ultrastructure and gliding motility of Mycoplasma amphoriforme, a possible human respiratory pathogen

Microbiology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 152 (7) ◽  
pp. 2181-2189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Hatchel ◽  
Rebecca S. Balish ◽  
Matthew L. Duley ◽  
Mitchell F. Balish
Keyword(s):  
Time Lapse ◽  
Gliding Motility ◽  
Dense Core ◽  
Respiratory Pathogen ◽  
Mycoplasma Species ◽  
Close Relative ◽  
Avian Pathogen ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Electron Dense Core ◽  
Triton X

Despite their small size and reduced genomes, many mycoplasma cells have complex structures involved in virulence. Mycoplasma pneumoniae has served as a model for the study of virulence factors of a variety of mycoplasma species that cause disease in humans and animals. These cells feature an attachment organelle, which mediates cytadherence and gliding motility and is required for virulence. An essential component of the architecture of the attachment organelle is an internal detergent-insoluble structure, the electron-dense core. Little information is known regarding its underlying mechanisms. Mycoplasma amphoriforme, a close relative of both M. pneumoniae and the avian pathogen Mycoplasma gallisepticum, is a recently discovered organism associated with chronic bronchitis in immunosuppressed individuals. This work describes both the ultrastructure of M. amphoriforme strain A39T as visualized by scanning electron microscopy and the gliding motility characteristics of this organism on glass. Though externally resembling M. gallisepticum, M. amphoriforme cells were found to have a Triton X-100-insoluble structure similar to the M. pneumoniae electron-dense core but with different dimensions. M. amphoriforme also exhibited gliding motility using time-lapse microcinematography; its movement was slower than that of either M. pneumoniae or M. gallisepticum.

Aberrant Type C Virus Production in a Cell Line Derived from Balb/3T3

1972 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 286-287
Author(s):  
N. Savage ◽  
A. Hackett
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Cell Line ◽  
Leukemia Virus ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Virus Production ◽  
Oncogenic Viruses ◽  
Endogenous Virus ◽  
Virus Particles ◽  
Moloney Leukemia Virus ◽  
A Cell

A cell line, UC1-B, which was derived from Balb/3T3 cells, maintains the same morphological characteristics of the non-transformed parental culture, and shows no evidence of spontaneous virus production. Survey by electron microscopy shows that the cell line consists of spindle-shaped cells with no unusual features and no endogenous virus particles.UC1-B cells respond to Moloney leukemia virus (MLV) infection by a change in morphology and growth pattern which is typical of cells transformed by sarcoma virus. Electron microscopy shows that the cells are now variable in shape (rounded, rhomboid, and spindle), and each cell type has some microvilli. Virtually all (90%) of the cells show virus particles developing at the cell surface and within the cytoplasm. Maturing viruses, typical of the oncogenic viruses, are found along with atypical tubular forms in the same cell.

Head Size and DNA Content in Bacteriophage T4

1972 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 200-201
Author(s):  
Fred Eiserling ◽  
A. H. Doermann ◽  
Linde Boehner
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Dna Content ◽  
Bacteriophage T4 ◽  
Head Size ◽  
Virus Particles ◽  
Altered Protein ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Bacterial Viruses ◽  
A Site ◽  
Protein Shell

The control of form or shape inheritance can be approached by studying the morphogenesis of bacterial viruses. Shape variants of bacteriophage T4 with altered protein shell (capsid) size and nucleic acid (DNA) content have been found by electron microscopy, and a mutant (E920g in gene 66) controlling head size has been described. This mutant produces short-headed particles which contain 2/3 the normal DNA content and which are non-viable when only one particle infects a cell (Fig. 1).We report here the isolation of a new mutant (191c) which also appears to be in gene 66 but at a site distinct from E920g. The most striking phenotype of the mutant is the production of about 10% of the phage yield as “giant” virus particles, from 3 to 8 times longer than normal phage (Fig. 2).

Artifacts caused by dehydration and epoxy embedding in TEM

1991 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 338-339
Author(s):  
Hilton H. Mollenhauer
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Electron Beam ◽  
Volume Change ◽  
Tissue Damage ◽  
Beam Specimen ◽  
Chemical Fixation ◽  
Resin Impregnation ◽  
Storage Vesicles ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Tissue Shrinkage

Various means have been devised to preserve biological specimens for electron microscopy, the most common being chemical fixation followed by dehydration and resin impregnation. It is intuitive, and has been amply demonstrated, that these manipulations lead to aberrations of many tissue elements. This report deals with three parts of this problem: specimen dehydration, epoxy embedding resins, and electron beam-specimen interactions. However, because of limited space, only a few points can be summarized.Dehydration: Tissue damage, or at least some molecular transitions within the tissue, must occur during passage of a cell or tissue to a nonaqueous state. Most obvious, perhaps, is a loss of lipid, both that which is in the form of storage vesicles and that associated with tissue elements, particularly membranes. Loss of water during dehydration may also lead to tissue shrinkage of 5-70% (volume change) depending on the tissue and dehydrating agent.

Electron microscopy of the replicative events of A25 bacteriophages in group A streptococci

1972 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. E. Read ◽  
R. W. Reed
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Nucleic Acid ◽  
Group A Streptococcus ◽  
Group A Streptococci ◽  
Virulent Phage ◽  
Acid Pool ◽  
Group A ◽  
A Cell

The replicative events of a virulent phage (A25) infection of a group A Streptococcus (T253) were studied using the electron microscope. The first intracellular evidence of phage replication in a cell occurred 30 min after infection with arrest of cell division and increase in the nucleic acid pool. Phage heads were evident in the nucleic acid pool of the cells 45 min after infection. Release of phages occurred by splitting of the cell wall along discrete lines. This appeared to be at sites of active wall synthesis, i.e., near the region of septum formation. Many phage components were released but relatively few complete phages indicating a relatively inefficient replicative system.

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