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ColB2-K77, a fertility-repressed F-like factor.

The colicinogenic B factor, transferred from Escherichia coli strain K77 (and termed ColB2-K77 or ColB2) to an E. coli K12 F(-) strain, is capable of promoting its own transfer to other K12 F(-) strains at a low rate (from LFC cultures) which can be increased under special conditions (HFC cultures). LFC cultures of K12 (ColB2)(+) F(-) strains show a low level of adsorption of F-specific phage particles which also increases under HFC conditions. The ColB2 factor is thus inferred to be an F-like sex factor which is repressed in its fertility. This repression is concluded to be due to a cytoplasmic repressor since, when ColB2 is present in cells containing an F factor (either autonomous or integrated), F fertility is also repressed as shown by the inability of such (ColB2)(+)F(+) [or (ColB2)(+)Hfr] strains to plaque F-specific phages, and by a reduction in the level of chromosomal transfer from such strains, compared to the corresponding F(+) (or Hfr) control strains. Mutants of the ColB2 factor in which fertility is no longer repressed (fertility derepressed or Fdr mutants) have been isolated. The ColB2Fdr mutant strains do not appear to be able to mobilize chromosomal transfer, although they have acquired F-specific phage sensitivity demonstrable by plaque formation and they transfer their colicin factor at high frequency and are well piliated. The Fdr mutation is presumed to result in the inability to synthesize the cytoplasmic fertility repressor since the ColB2Fdr factor does not repress the fertility of an F factor when present in the same host strain. A fertility-repressed drug resistance factor of the R(f) type is not stable in the presence of a ColB2 factor in the same cell and is eliminated in about 10% of the cells per generation. In contrast, another factor characteristic of the R(i) type is fully compatible with ColB2. Under conditions artificially stabilizing (ColB2Fdr)(+) (Rf)(+) strains, the enhanced fertility of ColB2Fdr is not repressed by the presence of the R factor, nor does the presence of R(f) in the intermediate strain of an HFC (for ColB2) system inhibit the normal increase in ColB2 transmissibility. It is concluded that the repressors of R(f) and ColB2, although both active on F fertility, are different; this may indicate that at least two independently repressible cistrons are involved in the expression of fertility characteristics.

Adsorption↗

Electron microscopy during release and purification of mesosomal vesicles and protoplast membranes from Staphylococcus aureus.

The mesosomes of log-phase Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538P and Staphylococcus aureus phage-type 80/81, as seen in situ in ultrathin sections, were of the vesicular type. The constituent vesicles ranged from 35 to 50 nm in diameter when the glutaraldehyde-osmium-uranium-lead sequence of fixation and staining was used. During protoplasting in hypertonic buffer containing a muralytic enzyme, vesicles of the same size were extruded and required magnesium ion to maintain structural integrity. The vesicles, purified from the protoplasting supernatant medium by density gradient centrifugation, maintained size and configuration in a homogeneous preparation. Cytoplasmic membranes, produced by osmotic shock and nuclease treatment of protoplasts, were similarly concentrated in gradients. However, they were not free of membrane-associated ribosomes nor of mesosomal vesicles except when prepared in the absence of magnesium.

Acetates↗

Purification and partial characterization of Bacillus subtilis Flagellar hooks.

A method for preparing bacterial flagellar hook structures is described. The method involves isolating intact flagella from a mutant which makes thermally labile flagellar filaments and heat-treating them to disaggregate the filament preferentially. The resulting hook preparation can be separated and purified by velocity and isopycnic centrifugation. The purified hooks sediment at a relative S value of 77. On acrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate, they show one major and a number of minor protein bands. The purified hooks can be used to immunize rabbits, and the resulting antiserum is hook-specific. These results support the notion that hooks are composed of a protein that differs from flagellin.

Animals↗

Effect of polymyxin on the bacteriophage receptors of the cell walls of gram-negative bacteria.

Treatment of gram-negative bacteria with lethal doses of polymyxin B and colistin resulted in the formation of projections of the outer layer of the cell wall. Phages T3, T4, and T7, which use wall lipopolysaccharide as receptors, were specifically prevented from adsorbing to Escherichia coli B cells treated with polymyxin, whereas phages T1, T2, T5, and T6 were not. In the systems of phage P22C-Salmonella typhimurium LT2 and phage C21-S. typhimurium variant SL1069, the phage were prevented from adsorbing to the host cell treated with the antibiotics. Electron microscopic observations show that phage T2 adsorbed irreversibly to the normal smooth surface between the projections on the outer layer caused by the drug treatment. These results indicate that lipopolysaccharide is affected by polymyxin functionally and morphologically, but lipoprotein is not. The purified lipopolysaccharide showed a ribbon-like structure when viewed face on and showed trilamellar structure when viewed edge on. The lipopolysaccharide from E. coli B was irreversibly adsorbed by phages T3, T4, and T7, but not phage T2. Often, phage T4 adsorbed to both sides of the lipopolysaccharide strand at comparable distances. Phage P22C adsorbed through the spikes of the tail-plates to the lipopolysaccharide from S. typhimurium LT2. Lipopolysaccharide which was treated with low doses of the drug (2.5 to 6.25 mug of polymyxin B per ml to 100 mug of lipopolysaccharide per ml) turned into the coiled form and was partially broken down into short segments with coiled form. The loosely coiled lipopolysaccharide retains both its function as the receptor and its trilamellar structure. Treatment with high doses of the drug (12.5 to 25 mug of polymyxin B per ml to 100 mug of lipopolysaccharide per ml) caused the collapse of the trilamellar structure of the strand. These collapsed lipopolysaccharides became flat and fused with each other, making an amorphous mass, and finally they were broken into small collapsed fragments.

Acetates↗

Effects of cyclic nucleotides and nucleoside triphosphates on stalk formation in Caulobacter crescentus.

Extensive stalk elongation in Skl mutants of Caulobacter crescentus occurs when they are grown in complete medium. This stalk elongation is less pronounced in synthetic medium with glucose as the sole carbon source than in complex peptone yeast extract medium. Addition of exogenous nucleoside triphosphates (adenosine triphosphate [ATP], guanosine triphosphate [GTP], cytidine triphosphate, and uridine triphosphate) inhibits stalk elongation of the Skl mutants, whereas cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate (GMP) stimulates stalk elongation in the Skl strains grown in synthetic glucose medium. Cyclic GMP also produces stalk elongation in wild-type C. crescentus and concurrently produces a cell division defect resulting in cellular filament formation. Under conditions tested, cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate and dibutyryl cyclic adenosine monophosphate did not enhance stalk elongation. Endogenous ATP and GTP levels in the mutants are significantly lower than corresponding nucleotide concentrations of the parent wild-type strains. Control of syntheses resulting in stalk formation in C. crescentus appears to be related to intracellular concentrations of nucleotides, with cyclic GMP as a prominent candidate for an important regulatory role in this aspect of morphogenesis.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

Ultrastructural properties of the extra membranes of Escherichia coli O111a as revealed by freeze-fracturing and negative-staining techniques.

Escherichia coli O111a is a thermosensitive strain which, when grown at 40 C, accumulates large quantities of intracellular membranes. The ultrastructure of these membranes in cells which have been chemically fixed, embedded, and examined as thin sections has been compared with that of membranes in cells negatively stained or freeze-fractured. Results indicate that the extra membranes are present in the three types of preparations examined and, therefore, clearly are not artifacts of chemical fixation. Negative staining has proved also to be a valuable tool as a rapid means of monitoring cells for the accumulation of large amounts of extra membranes. Also, examination of thin sections has shown that distinct continuities between the plasma membrane and the extra membranes exist. In general, membrane surfaces in freeze-fractured cells containing extra membranes appear smooth and lack the particles associated with the plasma membranes of many cells.

Cell Membrane↗

Electron microscopy of colicin I-producing cells.

Electron microscope examination of mitomycin C-induced strains of Escherichia coli colicinogenic for colicins Ia or Ib reveals particles of approximately 15 to 20 nm in diameter associated with the cell surface. Such structures are not present on uninduced colicinogenic strains nor on a mitomycin C-treated non-colicinogenic strain. In contrast to wild-type colicinogenic strains, induction of a colicinogenic strain known to be lacking the specific colicin I receptor was shown to result in the release of colicin activity into the cell medium. Examination of such induced mutants by electron microscopy showed their cell surfaces to be free of the particles observed on the wild-type strain. The cell medium of such induced mutant strains contained large numbers of particles of similar size and shape to those found on the surface of induced colicinogenic wild-type strains.

Binding Sites↗

Serological study of bacterial flagellar hooks.

Bacterial hooks were partially purified from flagella isolated from Salmonella SJ25, by treatment with heat to depolymerize flagellar filaments and with n-butanol and calcium chloride to remove membranes. Antihook serum was obtained from a rabbit inoculated with a preparation of hooks. The serum contained antibodies directed against the flagellar filament and cell membrane. These antibodies could be removed from the serum by absorption with purified flagellar filaments and cells of a nonflagellated mutant strain. It was shown by electron microscopy that anti-SJ25-hook antibody reacts with hooks from a number of strains of Salmonella which differed from SJ25 in H and O antigens, flagellar shape, and motility. Hooks possessed by various strains of Salmonella have a common antigenicity. In addition, anti-SJ25-hook cross-reacted with hooks from Escherichia coli W3110 but did not react at all which those from strains of Serratia, Proteus, Aerobacter, and Klebsiella. It is well known that bacteria stop moving upon addition of antiflagella serum to the medium. However, the addition of purified antihook was found to have little effect on motility. At physiological ionic strength and pH, flagellin (Salmonella) can polymerize into flagellar filaments only in the presence of seeds. It was shown that a crude preparation of hooks was able to initiate in vitro polymerization of flagellin.

Animals↗

Demonstration of ribosomes in mesosomes associated with Bacillus subtilis protoplasts.

The physiological differences between Bacillus subtilis (ATCC 6633) cells derived from a glucose-salts-yeast extract (GSY) medium and those of cells from tryptose broth permitted the identification of variables in protoplasting environments which noticeably affected the clarity of mesosomal ribosomes. They were the sucrose and magnesium ion concentrations and the type of buffer used. The environment suitable for conversion of GSY cells to the protoplast state was a 0.02 M tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane-hydrochloride buffer, pH 7.2, containing 0.6 M sucrose and 0.03 M MgCl(2). Branched mesosomal tubules and a unique organization of vesicles were detected in thin sections and in negative stains of the specimens. Ribosomes were demonstrable in the extruded structures associated with protoplasts that had been prepared according to four fixation schedules and embedded in either of two epoxy plastics. Adjustments in the fixation schedules improved the clarity of the large bodies of protoplast cytoplasm to a degree equivalent to that of their dangling appendages.

Bacillus subtilis↗

Morphology, ultrastructure, and bacteriophage infection of the helical mycoplasma-like organism (Spiroplasma citri gen. nov., sp. nov.) cultured from "stubborn" disease of citrus.

The mycoplasma-like organism Spiroplasma citri gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from citrus infected with "Stubborn" disease and carried in serial cultures in several media, was examined by dark-field microscopy and electron microscopy of negatively-stained and shadowed preparations and of sections. It grows as motile, helical filaments in liquid, but as nonmotile, nonhelical filaments and round bodies in agar cultures. Helicity and motility are lost in old broth cultures and upon addition of a variety of negative stains, fixatives, and other solutions. No organelles accounting for motility are present, but a layer of surface projections is present on the surface of the single, bounding membrane. The mycoplasma produces a tailed, type B bacteriophage which appear to attach to the outer layer. Helical filaments are preserved in ammonium molybdate, but not in sodium phosphotungstate, and by fixation in Formalin or glutaraldehyde made up in medium, but not by osmium nor by glutaraldehyde in cacodylate buffer. This mycoplasma appears similar to the noncultured helical microorganism in corn stunt-diseased tissues and is probably a representative of a new group of mycoplasmas which are in possession of surface projections, rotary motility, and bacteriophage infection.

Agar↗

First generation synchrony of isolated Hyphomicrobium swarmer populations.

A method is described for obtaining synchronously growing swarmer cell populations of Hyphomicrobium sp. strain B-522. This was accomplished by isolating young swarmers from random cultures by centrifugation and filtration. Cell multiplication occurred during 38% of the growth cycle in populations synchronized in this manner. Observations were made of the changes in cellular morphology which occurred during the growth cycle. Of the 14.25 h required for the doubling in cell numbers, an average of 5 h passed before the swarmer cells began to develop their hyphae. This time varied over a range of 10 h. The time interval between the beginning of hyphal development and the beginning of bud formation was 3.5 to 4.5 h. The maturation of the first buds and their separation from the mother cells were completed in 5.5 h. The duration of these steps is compared to those measured previously in agar slide cultures.

Bacteria↗

Morphogenesis and ultrastructure of Geotrichum candidum septa.

The ultrastructure and mode of formation of septa of Geotrichum candidum were investigated by light and electron microscopy. The invaginations of the lateral membrane and wall appear to initiate at multiple points around the circumference of the cell; the immature septum subsequently assumes a cart-wheel shape, with branched spokes radiating from the center of the septum. Each face of the septum is covered with a membrane possessing hitherto undescribed structural differentiation; the membrane substructures are comprised of two central subunits encircled by 12 identical subunits. The diameter of the entire 12 plus 2 structure is 24 to 25 nm, and the diameter of each individual subunit is approximately 4 nm. The maturation of the septum appears to occur by further deposition of material along the branched skeletal regions. Numerous small openings (micropores), formed as a result of incomplete deposition, ultimately give rise to plasmodesmata. During arthrospore formation, the plasmodesmal canals and associated micropores are occluded by electron-dense materials, rendering each segment of the hyphae completely independent of the rest of the hyphae.

Cell Membrane↗

Isolation and characterization of cell wall-defective variants of Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus licheniformis.

Quantitative mass conversion of intact bacterial cells of Bacillus subtilis and B. licheniformis to L-phase variants has been effected after lysozyme treatment. After subculture of the unstable L-phase variants for several months in the presence of methicillin, stable L-phase variants were obtained which grew in the absence of the antibiotic and were then unable to revert to the classical bacterial phase under conditions which gave rise to mass reversion of the protoplasts and unstable L-variants. These stable L-phase variants, which retained many of the physiological properties of the bacterium from which they were derived, were capable of growing exponentially and multiplying in liquid medium. Their morphology and apparent modes of reproduction were consistent with that described for other L-phase variants. The morphological events, as monitored by the electron microscope, of the reversion to the intact bacterial phase of an unstable L-phase variant of B. licheniformis are described.

Bacillus↗

Fine structures of cell envelopes of Chlamydia organisms as revealed by freeze-etching and negative staining techniques.

The cell walls of Chlamydia psittaci (meningopneumonitis strain) were examined by the freeze-etching and negative staining techniques. It was observed that the cleaved convex surface of the developmental, reticulate body was covered with numerous non-etchable particles 9 to 10 nm in diameter, these particles being rarely seen on the concave surface. Similarly, the convex surface of the mature, elementary body (EB) was covered with many particles but the concavity lacked these particles. After etching, the smooth concave surface of the EB appeared to have a hexagonally arrayed subunit structure, on which the button structure (B structure) was observed. Each B structure had a diameter of 27 nm and several B structures were grouped together in a hexagonal arrangement with a center-to-center spacing of 45 nm. In a limited area of the negatively stained EB cell wall, hexagonally arrayed rosette structures were present, with a center-to-center spacing similar to the B structures seen in the freeze-etched preparation. Each rosette, about 19 to 20 nm in diameter, appeared to be composed of a radial arrangement of nine subunits. The freeze-fractured cell wall-cytoplasmic membrane complexes indicated that the outer surface of the cytoplasmic membrane which appeared as the convex surface was covered with the fine particles, and thus it was likely that frozen EB was cleaved at the gap between the cell wall and ctyoplasmic membrane. On the cleaved inclusion, several groups of fine particles were observed. In each group, the particles were arranged hexagonally with the spacing ranging from 20 to 50 nm.

Cell Membrane↗

Electron microscopy of the carboxysomes (polyhedral bodies) of Thiobacillus neapolitanus.

The carboxysomes of Thiobacillus neapolitanus are shown, by electron microscopy, to consist of a paracrystalline array of 10-nm particles surrounded by a "membrane." The 10-nm particles have a center hole or depression and have been previously identified as ribulose diphosphate carboxylase. The membrane is a monolayer approximately 3.5-nm thick.

Carboxy-Lyases↗