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T J Beveridge

Publications and source records attributed to T J Beveridge.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Modeling and measuring the elastic properties of an archaeal surface, the sheath of Methanospirillum hungatei, and the implication of methane production.

We describe a technique for probing the elastic properties of biological membranes by using an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip to press the biological material into a groove in a solid surface. A simple model is developed to relate the applied force and observed depression distance to the elastic modulus of the material. A measurement on the proteinaceous sheath of the archaebacterium Methanospirillum hungatei GP1 gave a Young's modulus of 2 x 10(10) to 4 x 10(10) N/m2. The measurements suggested that the maximum sustainable tension in the sheath was 3.5 to 5 N/m. This finding implied a maximum possible internal pressure for the bacterium of between 300 and 400 atm. Since the cell membrane and S-layer (wall) which surround each cell should be freely permeable to methane and since we demonstrate that the sheath undergoes creep (expansion) with pressure increase, it is possible that the sheath acts as a pressure regulator by stretching, allowing the gas to escape only after a certain pressure is reached. This creep would increase the permeability of the sheath to diffusible substances.

Archaea↗

Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 ceases to express serotype-specific lipopolysaccharide at 45 degrees C.

Most Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains are able to produce two distinct lipopolysaccharide (LPS) O-polysaccharide types, A-band (common-antigen) and B-band (serotype-specific) LPSs. The relative expression levels of these two LPS types in P. aeruginosa PAO1 (O5 serotype) at various growth temperatures were investigated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and silver staining or Western blotting (immunoblotting) with monoclonal antibodies specific for each O polysaccharide. A-band and B-band LPSs were expressed concurrently when the cells grew at 15, 25, and 35 degrees C; however, growth at 45 degrees C resulted in a surface deficiency in B-band LPS as determined by immunoblotting and agglutination with B-band-specific monoclonal antibody. Transfer of these cells (expressing A-band LPS but deficient in B-band LPS) [A+B-]) to a lower temperature (at which the division time was comparable) resulted in a rapid resumption of normal A-band and B-band expression. B-band LPS was detectable by immunoblotting before measurable growth of the culture had occurred.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

A major autolysin of Pseudomonas aeruginosa: subcellular distribution, potential role in cell growth and division and secretion in surface membrane vesicles.

A 26-kDa murein hydrolase is the major autolysin of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, and its expression can be correlated with the growth and division of cells in both batch and synchronously growing cultures. In batch cultures, it is detected primarily during the mid-exponential growth phase, and in synchronous cultures, it is detected primarily during the cell elongation and division phases. Immunogold labeling of thin sections of P. aeruginosa using antibodies raised against the 26-kDa autolysin revealed that it is associated mainly with the cell envelope and in particular within the periplasm. It is also tightly bound to the peptidoglycan layer, since murein sacculi, isolated by boiling 4% sodium dodecyl sulfate treatment, could also be immunogold labeled. Since division is due to cell constriction in this P. aeruginosa strain (septa are rarely seen), we cannot comment on the autolysin's contribution to septation, although constriction sites were always heavily labeled. Some labeling was also found in the cytoplasm, and this was thought to be due to the de novo synthesis of the enzyme before translocation to the periplasm. Interestingly, the autolysin was also found to be associated with natural membrane vesicles which blebbed from the surface during cell growth; the enzyme is therefore part of the complex makeup of these membrane packages of secreted materials (J. L. Kadurugamuwa and T. J. Beveridge, J. Bacteriol. 177:3998-4008, 1995). The expression of these membrane vesicles was correlated with the expression of B-band lipopolysaccharide.

Antibody Specificity↗

Scanning probe microscopy in microbiology.

Scanning probe microscopy (SPM) is emerging as an important alternative to electron microscopy as a technique for analyzing submicron details on biological surfaces. Microbiological specimens such as viruses, bacteriophages, and ordered bacterial surface layers and membranes have played an important role in the development of scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) in cellular and molecular biology. Early STM studies involving metal-coated bacteriophage T4 polyheads, Methanospirillum hungatei, and Deinococcus radiodurans HPI layer clearly demonstrated that resolution was comparable to TEM on similarly prepared specimens and only limited by metal graininess. However, except for thin films or layers, novel biological information has been difficult to obtain since imaging native surfaces of such biomaterials as proteins or nucleic acids by STM proved to be unreliable. With the development of atomic force microscopes, which allow imaging of similar native structures, SPM applications have widened to include straightforward surface structure analysis, analysis of surface elastic and inelastic properties, bonding force measurements between molecules, and micro-manipulations of such individual molecules as DNA. AFM images have progressed from relatively crude representations of specimen topography to nanometer scale representations of native hydrated surfaces. It appears from the study of microbiological specimens that direct visualization of dynamic molecular events or processes may soon become a reality.

Bacteria↗

Unusually Stable Spinae from a Freshwater Chlorobium sp.

A green Chlorobium sp. with spinae, strain JSB1, was isolated from an enrichment culture previously obtained from Fayetteville Green Lake, N.Y. (J. S. Brooke, J. B. Thompson, T. J. Beveridge, and S. F. Koval, Arch. Microbiol. 157:319-322, 1992). Cells were gram-negative, nonmotile rods which contained bacteriochlorophyll c and chlorosomes. Spinae were best seen by transmission electron microscopy in thin sections of cells fixed in the presence of tannic acid. High-resolution scanning electron microscopy showed the spinae randomly distributed at the cell surface and at the junctions between cells. Spinae were physically sheared from cells and isolated from the culture supernatant by ultrafiltration. As observed by electron microscopy, spinae demonstrated unusual structural stability when exposed for 1 h at 37 deg C to chemical treatments such as hydrogen bond-breaking agents, detergents, metal-chelating agents, proteases, and organic solvents. They were stable for 1 h at 37 deg C over the pH range 2.3 to 9.9 and in 1 M HCl and 1 M NaOH. The structural integrity of the spinae was also maintained when spinae were subjected to harsher treatments of autoclaving in 2% (wt/vol) sodium dodecyl sulfate and exposure to dithiothreitol at pH 9 for 1 h at 100 deg C. Partially dissociated spinae were obtained after 5 h at 100 deg C in 1 M HCl and 1 M NaOH. In acid, the tubular spinae became amorphous structures, with no helical striations visible. In alkali, the spinae had dissociated into irregular aggregates of disks. Since both high temperature and extremes of pH were required to achieve partial dissociation of the spinae, the strength of the structure presumably comes from covalent bonding.

Journal Article↗

Localization of penicillin-binding proteins to the splitting system of Staphylococcus aureus septa by using a mercury-penicillin V derivative.

Precise localization of penicillin-binding protein (PBP)-antibiotic complexes in a methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus strain (BB255), its isogenic heterogeneous methicillin-resistant transductant (BB270), and a homogeneous methicillin-resistant strain (Col) was investigated by high-resolution electron microscopy. A mercury-penicillin V (Hg-pen V) derivative was used as a heavy metal-labeled, electron-dense probe for accurately localizing PBPs in situ in single bacterial cells during growth. The most striking feature of thin sections was the presence of an abnormally large (17 to 24 nm in width) splitting system within the thick cross walls or septa of Hg-pen V-treated bacteria of all strains. Untreated control cells possessed a thin, condensed splitting system, 7 to 9 nm in width. A thick splitting system was also distinguishable in unstained thin sections, thereby confirming that the electron contrast of this structure was not attributed to binding of bulky heavy metal stains usually used for electron microscopy. Biochemical analyses demonstrated that Hg-pen V bound to isolated plasma membranes as well as sodium dodecyl sulfate-treated cell walls and that two or more PBPs in each strain bound to this antibiotic. In contrast, the splitting system in penicillin V-treated bacteria was rarely visible after 30 min in the presence of antibiotic. These findings suggest that while most PBPs were associated with the plasma membrane, a proportion of PBPs were located within the fabric of the cell wall, in particular, in the splitting system. Inhibition of one or more high-M(r) PBPs by beta-lactam antibiotics modified the splitting system and cross-wall structure, therefore supporting a role for these PBPs in the synthesis and architectural design of these structures in S. aureus.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

Virulence factors are released from Pseudomonas aeruginosa in association with membrane vesicles during normal growth and exposure to gentamicin: a novel mechanism of enzyme secretion.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa blebs-off membrane vesicles (MVs) into culture medium during normal growth. Release of these vesicles increased approximately threefold after exposure of the organism to four times the MIC of gentamicin. Natural and gentamicin-induced membrane vesicles (n-MVs and g-MVs and g-MVs, respectively) were isolated by filtration and differential centrifugation, and several of their biological activities were characterized. Electron microscopy of both n-MVs and g-MVs revealed that they were spherical bilayer MVs with a diameter of 50 to 150 nm. Immunoelectron microscopy and Western blot (immunoblot) analysis of the vesicles demonstrated the presence of B-band lipopolysaccharide (LPS), with a slightly higher proportion of B-band LPS in g-MVs than in n-MVs. A-band LPS was occasionally detected in g-MVs but not in n-MVs. In addition to LPS, several enzymes, such as phospholipase C, protease, hemolysin, and alkaline phosphatase, which are known to contribute to the pathogenicity of Pseudomonas infections were found to be present in both vesicle types. Both types of vesicles contained DNA, with a significantly higher content in g-MVs. These vesicles could thus play an important role in genetic transformation and disease by serving as a transport vehicle for DNA and virulence factors and are presumably involved in septic shock.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

Stability of pressure-extruded liposomes made from archaeobacterial ether lipids.

Ether lipids were obtained from a wide range of archaeobacteria grown at extremes of pH, temperature, and salt concentration. With the exception of Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, unilamellar and/or multilamellar liposomes could be prepared from emulsions of total polar lipid extracts by pressure extrusion through filters of various pore sizes. Dynamic light scattering, and electron microscopy revealed homogeneous liposome populations with sizes varying from 40 to 230 nm, depending on both the lipid source and the pore size of the filters. Leakage rates of entrapped fluorescent or radioactive compounds established that those archaeobacterial liposomes that contained tetraether lipids were the most stable to high temperatures, alkaline pH, and serum proteins. Most ether liposomes were stable to phospholipase A2, phospholipase B and pancreatic lipase. These properties of archaeobacterial liposomes make them attractive for applications in biotechnology.

Archaea↗

Nucleation of celestite and strontianite on a cyanobacterial s-layer.

Synechococcus strain GL24 is a unicellular cyanobacterium that was isolated from Fayetteville Green Lake, New York, a meromictic lake which has high Ca and SO(4) concentrations. Epicellular mineralization of Synechococcus cells in the lake is the mechanism by which extensive calcitic bioherms (or microbial reefs) have been formed on the lake's shore and a marl sediment has been built on the lake bottom. Previous studies have shown that calcium carbonate (calcite) formation on the Synechococcus surface is dependent upon an alkaline pH, which is produced in the cellular microenvironment by the cells as their activity increases with seasonal warming of the lake water. At the circumneutral pH of bulk lake water, calcium sulfate (gypsum) is formed. In this study, we show that Synechococcus mediates a similar sulfate-to-carbonate transformation when Sr is the major divalent cation present, forming celestite and strontianite. In experimental systems to which equimolar amounts of Ca and Sr, Ca or Sr and Mg, or all three ions together were added to artificial lake water, Ca and Sr were incorporated equally into mineral formation to form CaSr(CO(3))(2). No Mg -containing carbonates were formed when either or both of the other two ions were present. Mineral formation takes place on a hexagonally arranged proteinaceous template (an S-layer) which forms the outermost surface of the Synechococcus cell. Our results provide evidence that the S-layer exhibits selectivity with respect to the ions bound and subsequently incorporated into carbonate minerals and that celestite and strontianite, previously thought to be purely evaporitic minerals, can be biogenically formed.

Journal Article↗

Mineral precipitation by epilithic biofilms in the speed river, ontario, Canada.

Epilithic microbial communities, ubiquitously found in biofilms on submerged granite, limestone, and sandstone, as well as on the concrete support pillars of bridges, were examined in the Speed River, Ontario, Canada. Transmission electron microscopy showed that attached bacteria (on all substrata) were highly mineralized, ranging from Fe-rich capsular material to fine-grained (<1 mum) authigenic (primary) mineral precipitates. The authigenic grains exhibited a wide range of morphologies, from amorphous gel-like phases to crystalline structures. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy indicated that the most abundant mineral associated with epilithic bacteria was a complex (Fe, Al) silicate of variable composition. The gel-like phases were similar in composition to a chamositic clay, whereas the crystalline structures were more siliceous and had compositions between those of glauconite and kaolinite. The consistent formation of (Fe, Al) silicates by all bacterial populations, regardless of substratum lithology, implies that biomineralization was a surface process associated with the anionic nature of the cell wall. The adsorption of dissolved constituents from the aqueous environment contributed significantly to the mineral formation process. In this regard, it appears that epilithic microbial biofilms dominate the reactivity of the rock-water interface and may determine the type of minerals formed, which will ultimately become part of the riverbed sediment. Because rivers typically contain high concentrations of dissolved iron, silicon, and aluminum, these findings provide a unique insight into biogeochemical activities that are potentially widespread in natural waters.

Journal Article↗

Reduction of Cr(VI) by a Consortium of Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria (SRB III).

A consortium of bacteria with tolerance to high concentrations of Cr(VI) (up to 2,500 ppm) and other toxic heavy metals has been obtained from metal-refinishing wastewaters in Chengdu, People's Republic of China. This consortium consists of a range of gram-positive and gram-negative rods and has the capacity to reduce Cr(VI) to Cr(III) as amorphous precipitates which are associated with the bacterial surfaces. An endospore-producing, gram-positive rod and a gram-negative rod accumulate the most metallic precipitates, and, over time, 80 to 95% of Cr can be removed from concentrations ranging from 50 to 2,000 ppm (0.96 to 38.45 mM). Kinetic studies revealed a first-order constant for Cr removal of 0.1518 h for an initial concentration of 1,000 ppm (19.3 mM), and the sorption isothermal data could be interpreted by the Freundlich relationship. The sorption was not entirely due to a passive interaction with reactive sites on the bacterial surfaces since gamma-irradiated, killed cells could not immobilize as much metal. When U or Zn was added with the Cr, it was also removed and could even increase the total amount of Cr immobilized. The consortium was tolerant to small amounts of oxygen in the headspace of tubes, but active growth of the bacteria was a requirement for Cr immobilization through Cr(VI) reduction, resulting in the lowering of E(h). Our data suggest that the reduction was via H(2)S. This consortium has been named SRB III, and it may be useful for the bioremediation of fluid metal-refining wastes.

Journal Article↗

Minerals associated with biofilms occurring on exposed rock in a granitic underground research laboratory.

The concept of disposal of nuclear fuel waste in crystalline rock requires the effects of microbial action to be investigated. The Underground Research Laboratory excavated in a pluton of the Canadian Shield provides a unique opportunity to study these effects. Three biofilms kept moist by seepage through fractures in granitic rock faces of the Underground Research Laboratory have been examined. The biofilms contained a variety of gram-negative and gram-positive morphotypes held together by an organic extracellular matrix. Nutrient levels in the groundwater were low, but energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy has shown biogeochemical immobilization of several elements in the biofilms; some of these elements were concentrated from extremely dilute environmental concentrations, and all elements were chemically complexed together to form amorphous or crystalline fine-grained minerals. These were seen by transmission electron microscopy to be both associated with the surfaces of the bacteria and scattered throughout the extracellular matrix, suggesting their de novo development through bacterial surface-mediated nucleation. The biofilm consortia are thought to concentrate elements both by passive sorption and by energy metabolism. By Mössbauer spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction, one of the biofilms showed that iron was both oxidized and precipitated as ferrihydrite or hematite aerobically and reduced and precipitated as siderite anaerobically. We believe that some Archean banded-iron formations could have been formed in a manner similar to this, as it would explain the deposition of hematite and siderite in close proximity. This biogeochemical development of minerals may also affect the transport of material in waste disposal sites.

Journal Article↗

Preservation of surface lipids and determination of ultrastructure of Mycobacterium kansasii by freeze-substitution.

The cell wall architecture of a slowly growing mycobacterium, Mycobacterium kansasii, was examined by freeze-substitution following growth in vitro. Freeze-substituted bacteria were marked by the presence of an electron-translucent space (or electron-transparent zone [ETZ] described by previous workers [T. Yamamoto, M. Nishiura, N. Harada, and T. Imaeda, Int. J. Lepr. 26:111-114, 1958]) surrounding the majority of cells. At least two morphotypes of mycobacteria were revealed by freeze-substitution. In the first, a relatively thin (11 +/- 2.3 to 3.5 +/- 3.1 nm), uniform ETZ surrounded intact cells which contained cytoplasm filled with well-stained ribosomes and a DNA nucleoid distributed throughout the cell. The second morphotype consisted of a small proportion of organisms that were distorted in shape and were surrounded by a much thicker (59 +/- 2.6 to 198 +/- 2.5 nm) ETZ in areas of the cell which appeared to have retracted from the space it had originally occupied, leaving depressions in the ETZ. The lipid nature of the ETZ was demonstrated because cells were devoid of an ETZ when organisms were freeze-substituted in the absence of osmium tetroxide in the substitution medium or treated with neutral lipid solvents (acetone or ethanol) before freeze-substitution. Moreover, thin-layer chromatography of acetone or ethanol extracts obtained from solvent-treated cells identified a lipid component which corresponded to the M. kansasii-specific phenolic glycolipid. In contrast, negligible amounts of glycolipids were detected in extracts obtained from control HEPES (N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N'-2-ethanesulfonic acid) buffer-treated cells, and these cells retained an ETZ. These results demonstrate that species-specific phenolic glycolipids are essential components in the architecture of the M. kansasii ETZ. Furthermore, we show that freeze-substitution is a reliable technique for the retention and precise preservation of lipid-containing polymers in the mycobacterial cell wall.

Freeze Substitution↗

Analysis of the sodium dodecyl sulfate-stable peptidoglycan autolysins of select gram-negative pathogens by using renaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

For the first time, peptidoglycan autolysins from cellular fractions derived from sonicated cultures of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, Escherichia coli W7, Klebsiella pneumoniae CWK2, and Proteus mirabilis 19 were detected and partially characterized by zymogram analysis. Purified murein sacculi from P. aeruginosa PAO1 were incorporated into a sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gel at a concentration of 0.05% (wt/vol) to serve as a substrate for the separated autolysins. At least 11 autolysin bands of various intensities with M(r)s ranging between 17,000 and 122,000 were detected in each of the homogenated cultures. Some of the autolysins of the four bacteria had similar M(r)s. The zymogram analysis was used to show that a number of the autolysins from E. coli were inhibited by the heavy metals Hg2+ and Cu2+, at 1 and 10 mM, respectively, high ionic strengths, and reagents known to affect the packing of lipopolysaccharides. The activity of an autolysin with an M(r) of 65,000 was also impaired by penicillin G, whereas it was enhanced by gentamicin. A preliminary screen to determine the relationship between penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) and autolysins was carried out by using a dual assay in which radiolabelled penicillin V bands were visualized on an autolysin zymogram. Radiolabelled bands corresponding to PBPs 3, 4, 5, and 6 from E. coli and P. aeruginosa; PBPs 3, 4, and 6 from Proteus mirabilis; and PBP 6 from K. pneumoniae degraded the murein sacculi in the gels and were presumed to have autolytic activity, although the possibility of two distinct enzymes, each with one of the activities, comigrating in the SDS-polyacrylamide gels could not be excluded. Some radiolabelled bands possessed an Mr of <34,000 and coincided with similar low-Mr autolysin bands.

Cations, Divalent↗

Structural differentiation of the Bacillus subtilis 168 cell wall.

Exponential-growth-phase cultures of Bacillus subtilis 168 were probed with polycationized ferritin (PCF) or concanavalin A (localized by the addition of horseradish peroxidase conjugated to colloidal gold) to distinguish surface anionic sites and teichoic acid polymers, respectively. Isolated cell walls, lysozyme-digested cell walls, and cell walls treated with mild alkali to remove teichoic acid were also treated with PCF. After labelling, whole cells and walls were processed for electron microscopy by freeze-substitution. Thin sections of untreated cells showed a triphasic, fibrous wall extending more than 30 nm beyond the cytoplasmic membrane. Measurements of wall thickness indicated that the wall was thicker at locations adjacent to septa and at pole-cylinder junctions (P < 0.001). Labelling studies showed that at saturating concentrations the PCF probe labelled the outermost limit of the cell wall, completely surrounding individual cells. However, at limiting PCF concentrations, labelling was observed at only discrete cell surface locations adjacent to or overlying septa and at the junction between pole and cylinder. Labelling was rarely observed along the cell cylinder or directly over the poles. Cells did not label along the cylindrical wall until there was visible evidence of a developing septum. Identical labelling patterns were observed by using concanavalin A-horseradish peroxidase-colloidal gold. Neither probe appeared to penetrate between the fibers of the wall. We suggest that the fibrous appearance of the wall seen in freeze-substituted cells reflects turnover of the wall matrix, that the specificity of labelling to discrete sites on the cell surface is indicative of regions of extreme hydrolytic activity in which alpha-glucose residues of the wall teichoic acids and electronegative sites (contributed by phosphate and carboxyl groups of the teichoic acids and carboxyl groups of the peptidoglycan polymers) are more readily accessible to our probes, and that the wall of exponentially growing B. subtilis cells contains regions of structural differentiation.

Bacillus subtilis↗

Ultrastructure of mycobacterial surfaces by freeze-substitution.

The global status of tuberculosis has recently received much public attention, particularly in some developed countries that are now reporting an increase in cases after several years of decline. A number of factors have contributed to the resurgence in tuberculosis and other mycobacterial infections, including homelessness, increased urban overcrowding among the poor, increased drug abuse and the AIDS epidemic. In addition, the intrinsic nature of mycobacterial impermeability to some antibiotics, and their ability to survive in host environments has been attributed to the unique chemistry and architecture of their walls. A better understanding of these surface-related properties could in turn lead to the design of more effective chemotherapeutic agents or potential vaccine candidates. Using freeze-substitution, we offer a revised perspective on mycobacterial wall design and discuss its significance.

Bacterial Adhesion↗

Interaction of gentamicin with the A band and B band lipopolysaccharides of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and its possible lethal effect.

The lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 possesses two distinct types of O polysaccharide, A and B band LPSs, but the majority of clinical isolates from cystic fibrosis patients who are infected with the organism possess only the A band as the major LPS antigen. The initial step in a series of events during the uptake of aminoglycoside antibiotics such as gentamicin is the ionic binding of the molecule to the cell surface. In an attempt to elucidate the role of A and B band LPSs of P. aeruginosa in this passive ionic binding of gentamicin to the outer membrane and its possible lethal effects, strains PAO1 (A+B+) and LPS isogenic derivatives (A+B-,A-B+,A-B-) were treated with the antibiotic. Ionic binding of gentamicin appeared to be subtly different in PAO1 and its LPS derivatives; a lethal dose of drug was bound to all strains, although the degree of binding varied with each strain. The outer membrane affinity for gentamicin was higher in strains possessing the B band than in strains with A band LPS, and these B band strains were more prone to antibiotic-induced killing. Strains with both A and B band LPSs bound the most gentamicin of all strains, and this binding caused an almost 50% loss in viability. Ionic binding of aminoglycoside antibiotucs to the outer membrane of cell surfaces must not only weaken th cell surface (R. E. W. Hancock, Annu. Rev. Microbiol. 38:237-264, 1984; N. L. Martin and T. J. Beveridge, Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 29:1079-1087, 1986; S. G. Walker and T. J. Beveridge, Can. J. Microbiol. 34:12-18, 1988) but it must also be more important in cell death than was originally thought.

Blotting, Western↗