Fine structure and distribution of extracellular polymer surrounding selected aerobic bacteria

1975 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald D. Cagle
Keyword(s):  
Fine Structure ◽  
Acinetobacter Calcoaceticus ◽  
Ruthenium Red ◽  
Aerobic Bacteria ◽  
Staining Procedure ◽  
Streptococcus Salivarius ◽  
Critical Point Drying ◽  
Freeze Etching ◽  
Ruthenium Red Staining ◽  
Extracellular Polymer

The structure and distribution of extracellular polymer surrounding Bacillus circulans, Diplococcus (Streptococcus) pneumoniae, Streptococcus salivarius, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Herellea vaginacola (Acinetobacter calcoaceticus), and Agrobacterium tumefaciens were studied by electron microscopy. A modified ruthenium red staining procedure was used to examine the fine structure of capsule and slime. Freeze-etching and critical-point drying were used to examine the quantity of unaltered exocellular material. Comparative data demonstrate that fibrillar extracellular polymer surrounding B. circulans, D. pneumoniae, and K. pneumoniae is capsule (cell wall attached) which is characteristic of the producing organism. Capsular polymer generally appeared fibrillar, although globular polymer consisted of capsular subunits bound to S. salivarius and H. vaginacola. Exocellular slime was present about S. aureus, P. aeruginosa, and A. tumefaciens.

Improved staining of extracellular polymer surrounding Eucapsis sp. and Anabena cylindrica: a comparative study

1974 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 735-738
Author(s):  
Gerald D. Cagle
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscope ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Green Algae ◽  
Freeze Drying ◽  
Ruthenium Red ◽  
Blue Green Algae ◽  
Modified Method ◽  
Ruthenium Red Staining ◽  
Extracellular Polymer

Extracellular polymer surrounding two blue-green algae, Eucapsis sp. (No. 1519) and Anabena cylindrica Lemm. (No. 629), was examined with the electron microscope. Conventional glutaraldehyde–OsO4 fixation, freeze-drying before fixation, and two ruthenium red staining procedures (Luft's method and the modified method of Cagle et al.) were used. The data obtained indicate that observation of extracellular polymer is successively enhanced over conventional fixation when (i) freeze-drying, (ii) Luft's ruthenium red method, and (iii) the modified method of Cagle et al. are used. Each of the methods was also observed to improve cytological detail, particularly in A. cylindrica.

Freeze-etch study of the cell envelope of cowpea rhizobia: compartmentalization of the periplasmic space in relation to polysaccharide excretion

1990 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 373-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bina Mody ◽  
Rustom Mody ◽  
Vinod Modi
Keyword(s):  
Outer Membrane ◽  
Cell Envelope ◽  
Ruthenium Red ◽  
Distinctive Features ◽  
Rhizobium Strains ◽  
Cytoplasmic Membranes ◽  
Rigid Cell Wall ◽  
Freeze Etching ◽  
Ruthenium Red Staining ◽  
Cowpea Rhizobia

Freeze-etching electron microscopy of free-living cowpea rhizobia revealed distinctive features of the cell envelope of this bacteria. The topology of the outer and cytoplasmic membranes was comparable with that described for other Gram-negative bacteria. In cowpea Rhizobium strains JLn(c) and NC-92, the rigid cell wall almost invariably cleaved away from the outer membrane, thus exposing two distinct fracture faces in the outer membrane, which to date have been ill defined in rhizobia. Cross-fractured cells showed enlargement of the periplasmic region as a result of invagination of the cytoplasmic membrane near one end of the cell. This feature was consistent in all exponential and stationary phase cells. Ruthenium red staining of cells in various growth phases showed unipolar initiation of the capsule. A unique structure seen within the enlarged periplasm was the presence of a smooth lipidic vesicle. Key words: Rhizobium, freeze-etch, membrane, polysaccharide, vesicle.

Ruthenium Red Staining of Human Hard Keratin Fibers

1982 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 278-279
Author(s):  
M. C. Buhrer ◽  
R. A. Mathews
Keyword(s):  
Human Hair ◽  
Ruthenium Red ◽  
Acid Mucopolysaccharides ◽  
Biochemical Studies ◽  
Keratin Fibers ◽  
Ruthenium Red Staining ◽  
Extracellular Materials

Ruthenium red has been used as a stain to demonstrate a variety of extracellular materials, especially acid mucopolysaccharides. It also reacts with certain intracellular and extracellular lipids. Since biochemical studies in our laboratory demonstrated the presence of a variety of monosaccharides in human hair ruthenium red staining procedures were adopted in order to evaluate the presence and morphological location of acid oligosaccharides in the keratinized aspect of hair.

Fine Structure of Swarmers of Cladophora and Chaetomorpha

1971 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 581-601
Author(s):  
D. G. ROBINSON ◽  
R. D. PRESTON
Keyword(s):  
Cell Wall ◽  
Fine Structure ◽  
Spatial Arrangement ◽  
Cell Wall Synthesis ◽  
Fibrous Layer ◽  
Etching Technique ◽  
Freeze Etching

Naked swarmers of both Cladophora rupestris and Chaetomorpha melagonium have been examined by the freeze-etching technique. The swarmers of Cladophora, collected just after settling, reveal several layers of granules external to the plasmalemma and internal to the so-called ‘fibrous-layer’. Chaetomorpha swarmers collected just before settling show extrusion of vesicles through the plasmalemma. The structures associated with the membranes are discussed in relation to known features of these swarmers already observed by sectioning. The role of granules in the synthesis of cell wall microfibrils is strengthened though the spatial arrangement of the granules seen in this investigation does not completely fulfil the ‘ordered granule’ hypothesis. Description of, and comments on, features related to cell wall synthesis, particularly the Golgi and vacuolar systems, are given.

Structure, properties and enhanced expression of galactose-binding C-type lectins in mucous cells of gills from freshwater Japanese eels (Anguilla japonica)

2001 ◽  
Vol 360 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abinash Chandra MISTRY ◽  
Shinji HONDA ◽  
Shigehisa HIROSE
Keyword(s):  
Ruthenium Red ◽  
Anguilla Japonica ◽  
Amino Acid Residues ◽  
Mucous Cells ◽  
Cdna Subtraction ◽  
Competitive Binding Assay ◽  
Enhanced Expression ◽  
Ruthenium Red Staining ◽  
High Level ◽  
Cdna Subtraction Library

Using a Japanese-eel (Anguilla japonica) gill cDNA subtraction library, two novel β-d-galactose-binding lectins were identified that belong to group VII of the animal C-type lectin family. The eel C-type lectins, termed eCL-1 and eCL-2, are simple lectins composed of 163 amino acid residues, including a 22-residue signal peptide for secretion and a single carbohydrate-recognition domain (CRD) of ∼ 130 residues typical of C-type lectins. The galactose specificity of the CRD was suggested by the presence of a QPD motif and confirmed by a competitive binding assay. Using Ruthenium Red staining, the lectins were shown to bind Ca2+ ions. SDS/PAGE showed that native eCL-1 and eCL-2have an SDS-resistant octameric structure (a tetramer of disulphide-linked dimers). Northern and Western blot analyses demonstrated high-level expression of eCL-1 and eCL-2 mRNAs and their protein products in gills from freshwater eels, which decreased markedly when the eels were transferred from freshwater to seawater. Immunohistochemistry showed that the eel lectins are localized in the exocrine mucous cells of the gill.

Morphology and ultrastructure of oral strains of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans and Haemophilus aphrophilus

1980 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 588-600
Author(s):  
S C Holt ◽  
A C Tanner ◽  
S S Socransky
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Ruthenium Red ◽  
Actinobacillus Actinomycetemcomitans ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Haemophilus Aphrophilus ◽  
Ruthenium Red Staining ◽  
Amorphous Surface ◽  
Scanning Electron

Selected human oral and nonoral strains of the genera Actinobacillus and Haemophilus were examined by transmission and scanning electron microscopy. The strains examined were morphologically identical to recognized Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Haemophilus aphrophilus, and Haemophilus paraphrophilus. By transmission electron microscopy, the cells were typically gram negative in morphology, with several strains possessing some extracellular ruthenium red-staining polymeric material. Numerous vesicular structures, morphologically identical to lipopolysaccharide vesicles, were seen to originate from and be continuous with the surface of the outer membrane. Large numbers of these vesicles were also found in the external environment. Scanning electron microscopic observations revealed that both actinobacilli and haemophili possessed surface projections and an amorphous surface material which connected and covered adjacent cells.

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