Fusion and erosion of cell walls during confugation in the fussion yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe)

1977 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-155
Author(s):  
G.B. Calleja ◽  
B.Y. Yoo ◽  
B.F. Johnson

Conjugation in Schizosaccharomyces pombe was studied by transmission electron microscopy. Mural and nuclear events were scored from induction, the initial event, to meiosis I, the start of sporulation. These morphogenic markers were separately identifiable as flocculation, copulation, conjugation-tube formation, cross-wall formation, cross-wall erosion, conjugation-tube expansion, cytoplasmic fusion, de-differentiation of site of union, nuclear migration and karyogamy. The following were identified as new structural elements: sex hairs, which presumably mediate hydrogen bonding between cells during flocculation; crimp at the site of union; dark patch, which presumably serves as a leak-proof seal at the time of cross-wall erosion; suture, an electron-dense seam formed by the union of a copulant pair; and small electron-dense particles close to the site of wall erosion. No special structures on the cell wall could be identified as indicative of specific sites for potential copulatory activity. The discontinuity of the 2 cell walls at the site of union became so de-differentiated after fusion and erosion that it was no longer possible to pinpoint the site of union.

Author(s):  
Patricia N. Hackney

Ustilago hordei and Ustilago violacea are yeast-like basidiomycete pathogens ofHordeum vulgare and Silene alba respectively. The mating type system in both species of Ustilago is bipolar, with alleles, A,a, (U.hordei) and a1, a2 (U.violacea) at a single locus. Haploid sporidia maintain the asexual phase by budding, while the sexual phase is initiated by conjugation tube formation between the mating types during budding and conjugation.For observation of budding, sporidia were prepared by culturing the four types on YEG (yeast extract glucose) broth for 24 hours. After centrifugation at 5000g cells were either left unmated or mated in a1/a2,A/a combinations. The sporidia were then mixed 1:1 with 4% agar and the resulting 1mm cubes fixed in 8% gluteraldehyde and post fixed in osmium tetroxide. After dehydration and embedding cubes were thin sectioned with a LKB ultratome and photographed in a Zeiss 9s transmission electron microscope or in an AE1 electron microscope of MK11 1MEV at the High Voltage Electron Microscopy Center of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.


Holzforschung ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 59 (6) ◽  
pp. 675-680 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonas Brändström ◽  
Jean-Paul Joseleau ◽  
Alain Cochaux ◽  
Nathalie Giraud-Telme ◽  
Katia Ruel

Abstract Transmission electron microscopy was used to investigate the ultrastructure of recycled pulp fibers originating from a household collection plant and intended for the production of packaging paper. Three recovered paper grades and recycling processes, including pulping, screening, cleaning and refining, were assessed with emphasis on surface and internal fibrillation as well as xylan localization. Results showed a large heterogeneity with respect to fiber ultrastructure within and between the grades. Screening and cleaning steps had no detectable effects, but refining clearly increased cell-wall delamination and surface fibrillation. Immunolabeling of xylans showed that they were distributed rather evenly across the cell walls. They were also present on fines. Two different mechanisms for fiber delamination and surface fibrillation were found, one which implies that internal and external fibrillation take place simultaneously across the cell wall, and another which implies successive peeling of layers or sub-layers from the outside towards the inside. It is suggested that recycled fibers of chemical pulp origin undergo the former mechanism and recycled fibers that contain lignin binding the cell wall matrix give rise to the latter peeling mechanism. Because several recycled fibers were severely delaminated and almost fractured, we suggest that to produce a good packaging paper, it is important that recycled pulp should contain a significant proportion of fibers with high intrinsic strength.


2000 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 294-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard F. Pfeltz ◽  
Vineet K. Singh ◽  
Jennifer L. Schmidt ◽  
Michael A. Batten ◽  
Christopher S. Baranyk ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT A series of 12 Staphylococcus aureus strains of various genetic backgrounds, methicillin resistance levels, and autolytic activities were subjected to selection for the glycopeptide-intermediate S. aureus (GISA) susceptibility phenotype on increasing concentrations of vancomycin. Six strains acquired the phenotype rapidly, two did so slowly, and four failed to do so. The vancomycin MICs for the GISA strains ranged from 4 to 16 μg/ml, were stable to 20 nonselective passages, and expressed resistance homogeneously. Neither ease of acquisition of the GISA phenotype nor the MIC attained correlated with methicillin resistance hetero- versus homogeneity or autolytic deficiency or sufficiency. Oxacillin MICs were generally unchanged between parent and GISA strains, although the mec members of both isogenic methicillin-susceptible and methicillin-resistant pairs acquired the GISA phenotype more rapidly and to higher MICs than did their susceptible counterparts. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the GISA strains appeared normal in the absence of vancomycin but had thickened and diffuse cell walls when grown with vancomycin at one-half the MIC. Common features among GISAs were reduced doubling times, decreased lysostaphin susceptibilities, and reduced whole-cell and zymographic autolytic activities in the absence of vancomycin. This, with surface hydrophobicity differences, indicated that even in the absence of vancomycin the GISA cell walls differed from those of the parents. Autolytic activities were further reduced by the inclusion of vancomycin in whole-cell and zymographic studies. The six least vancomycin-susceptible GISA strains exhibited an increased capacity to remove vancomycin from the medium versus their parent lines. This study suggests that while some elements of the GISA phenotype are strain specific, many are common to the phenotype although their expression is influenced by genetic background. GISA strains with similar glycopeptide MICs may express individual components of the phenotype to different extents.


Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 703
Author(s):  
Suriya Rehman ◽  
Munirah A. Almessiere ◽  
Ebtesam A. Al-Suhaimi ◽  
Mehwish Hussain ◽  
Maha Yousuf Bari ◽  
...  

In the present study, biocompatible manganese nanoparticles have been linked with zinc and iron molecules to prepare different derivatives of Mn0.5Zn0.5ErxYxFe2−2xO4 NPs (x = 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08, 0.10), using an ultrasonication approach. The structure, surface morphology, and chemical compositions of Mn0.5Zn0.5ErxYxFe2−2xO4 NPs were elucidated by X-ray diffractometer (XRD), High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (EDX) techniques. The bioactivity of Mn0.5Zn0.5ErxYxFe2−2xO4 NPs on normal (HEK-293) and (HCT-116) colon cancer cell line was evaluated. The Mn0.5Zn0.5ErxYxFe2−2xO4 NPs treatment post 48 h resulted in a significant reduction in cells (via MTT assay, having an IC50 value between 0.88 µg/mL and 2.40 µg/mL). The specificity of Mn0.5Zn0.5ErxYxFe2−2xO4 NPs were studied by treating them on normal cells line (HEK-293). The results showed that Mn0.5Zn0.5ErxYxFe2−2xO4 NPs did not incur any effect on HEK-293, which suggests that Mn0.5Zn0.5ErxYxFe2−2xO4 NPs selectively targeted the colon cancerous cells. Using Candida albicans, antifungal activity was also studied by evaluating minimum inhibitory/fungicidal concentration (MIC/MFC) and the effect of nanomaterial on the germ tube formation, which exhibited that NPs significantly inhibited the growth and germ tube formation. The obtained results hold the potential to design nanoparticles that lead to efficient bioactivity.


2001 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 405-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria das Graças Sajo ◽  
Silvia Rodrigues Machado

The leaf ultrastructure of five Xyris species were examined using scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM) and histochemical methods. All studied leaves show some features in epidermis and mesophyll, which were of considerable adaptative significance to drought stress. Such features included the occurrence of a pectic layer on the stomatal guard cells and the presence of a network of pectic compounds in the cuticle. Pectic compunds were also in abundance in lamellated walls of the mesophyll cells and on the inner surface of the sclerified cell walls of the vascular bundle sheaths. There were also specialized chlorenchymatous "peg cells" in the mesophyll and drops of phenolic compounds inside the epidermal cells.


Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 1488
Author(s):  
Artemii P. Gorshkov ◽  
Anna V. Tsyganova ◽  
Maxim G. Vorobiev ◽  
Viktor E. Tsyganov

In Russia, tetramethylthiuram disulfide (TMTD) is a fungicide widely used in the cultivation of legumes, including the pea (Pisum sativum). Application of TMTD can negatively affect nodulation; nevertheless, its effect on the histological and ultrastructural organization of nodules has not previously been investigated. In this study, the effect of TMTD at three concentrations (0.4, 4, and 8 g/kg) on nodule development in three pea genotypes (laboratory lines Sprint-2 and SGE, and cultivar ‘Finale’) was examined. In SGE, TMTD at 0.4 g/kg reduced the nodule number and shoot and root fresh weights. Treatment with TMTD at 8 g/kg changed the nodule color from pink to green, indicative of nodule senescence. Light and transmission electron microscopy analyses revealed negative effects of TMTD on nodule structure in each genotype. ‘Finale’ was the most sensitive cultivar to TMTD and Sprint-2 was the most tolerant. The negative effects of TMTD on nodules included the appearance of a senescence zone, starch accumulation, swelling of cell walls accompanied by a loss of electron density, thickening of the infection thread walls, symbiosome fusion, and bacteroid degradation. These results demonstrate how TMTD adversely affects nodules in the pea and will be useful for developing strategies to optimize fungicide use on legume crops.


1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 757-761 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Untiedt ◽  
K. Müller

Lyophyllum palustre (Peck) Singer, a basidiomycete (Tricholomataceae) parasitizing Sphagnum, was examined for points of contact between hyphae and Sphagnum cells with the help of light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Results indicate that the fungus attacks Sphagnum cells by penetrating cell walls and altering host cell protosplasm. In addition, the formation of additional partitioning cell walls in attacked living Sphagnum cells was observed.


1984 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 459 ◽  
Author(s):  
JNA Lott ◽  
DJ Goodchild ◽  
S Craig

Most of the phytin in pea (Pisum sativum) cotyledons is water soluble. In order to determine where K and P are located it was necessary to use anhydrous or low water content tissue preparation procedures to obtain samples suitable for energy dispersive X-ray analysis studies using a transmission electron microscope. While some protein bodies do contain electron-dense globoid crystals, most do not. Globoid crystals are more prevalent in the abaxial part of the cotyledon where the provascular network is located. When present, globoid crystals contain considerable Mg, and/or Ca along with P and K. Protein bodies that lack globoid crystals still contain considerable P and K with lesser amounts of elements such as S, Cl and Mg. This is consistent with these protein bodies containing K-phytate in the proteinaceous matrix. While there is a lot of K inside the protein bodies, K is widespread in pea cotyledon tissue and could be detected in starch grains, cell walls and the cytoplasmic matrix.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederik Ossler ◽  
Crispin J. D. Hetherington

Biomass is becoming particularly important as a starting material for advanced carbon structures. In this study, we found interesting nanostructures on the surface of burnt spaghetti using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) for analysis. The structures were elongated and finger-like, with evidence that the tubes have shell and core components. The shell was carbon that included amorphous and layered graphene structures. EDX showed enriched potassium and phosphorous in the core and at the tip of the tubes. The results indicate that tube formation depends on phase separation of polar/ionic and nonpolar moieties when water is produced in the biomass from the pyrolysis/combustion. The tube growth is most probably due to the raising pressure of vapor that cannot escape through the carbon film that is formed at the surface of the stick from flame heat. This process resembles glass blowing or volcanic activity, where the carbon acts as the glass or earth’s crust, respectively. These observations suggest that new interesting tubular nanostructures with different properties on the inside and outside can be produced in a relatively simple way, utilizing processes of combustion of starch-rich biomass materials.


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