细菌鞭毛在生理活动中的作用

鞭毛是细菌主要的运动器官,细菌通过鞭毛运动实现趋化性。随着研究的不断深入,研究人员发现鞭毛具有很多其他功能。现综述细菌鞭毛在生理活动中的作用,包括鞭毛介导的运动和趋化性,鞭毛的致病性、抗原性与免疫原性,以及鞭毛与冷适应机制的关系,并结合实验室研究方向,对细菌鞭毛相关的冷适应机制做出了展望。     

细菌对环境污染物的趋化性及其在生物修复中的作用

细菌对有机化合物的降解能力是一种利用碳源和能源的优势,这种能力可以用来设计安全、有效和无二次污染的污染物的生物修复系统。趋化性是细菌适应外界化学环境变化而作出的行为反应,是一种寻找碳源和能源的优势。细菌的趋化性能够增强细菌在自然环境中的降解污染物的效果,细菌的趋化性与降解性之间的关系研究已经成为热点。介绍了细菌的趋化性的基本概念和趋化信号转导的机制,重点讨论了细菌对环境污染化合物的趋化性,从基因水平揭示了趋化性与降解性之间的紧密联系,认为趋化性可以有效地促进降解性细菌对污染物的生物修复作用。     

十字花科黑腐病菌中甲基趋化受体蛋白的研究

趋化性是有运动能力的细菌对环境中的刺激物产生的趋向或离避行为。在细菌的趋化系统中,能够感应环境中化学物质浓度梯度的化学受体称为趋化受体。十字花科黑腐病菌(Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris, Xcc)是重要的植物病原菌,也是一种研究微生物与宿主互作机理的重要模式菌,然而关于Xcc中趋化受体的研究还较少。本研究利用生物信息学技术对Xcc8004中的21个甲基受体趋化蛋白(methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins, MCPs)进行功能域分析并构建了系统进化树。结果表明,Xcc中MCP具有比较高的保守性。利用同源双交换法构建了MCP编码基因的缺失突变体,对这些突变体的生物学功能分析表明:21个MCP编码基因突变后,皆影响Xcc对糖类、氨基酸等趋化物的趋化性;大多数突变不影响细菌的运动性,但XC_2311、XC_2304、XC_1937、XC_2223分别突变后,影响细菌的游动性和泳动性。     

毛细管束法分离土壤稀有放线菌

描述了一种改进的从土壤中分离稀有放线菌的毛细管法。本法能在较低的稀释条件下,利用放线荫孢子和孢囊的疏水性、游动孢子在水中的运动性和趋化性(包括趋氧性)。从而大大提高稀有放线菌的检出率。     

十字花科黑腐病菌中一个与趋化性相关基因的突变分析

十字花科作物黑腐病,又称为野油菜黄单胞菌野油菜变种(Xanthomonas campestris pv.campestris,简称Xcc),该细菌是引起十字花科作物等植物发生黑腐病的病原菌,同时该细菌也是人们研究寄主与病原微生物相互作用的具体分子机理的模式菌之一。在Xcc 8004菌株基因组中,XC_2304编码的产物为一个趋化性蛋白。由于细菌的趋化性在病原学方面的意义是非常重要的,为评估XC_2304的功能,本研究利用p K18mob Sac B对XC_2304进行缺失突变,获得缺失突变体DM2304。植株试验发现,突变体DM2304对寄主植物的致病力下降约30%,其互补菌株CDM2304的致病力基本恢复至野生型水平,这表明XC_2304与Xcc致病力有关。利用毛细管法检测DM2304对18种物质的趋化性,结果表明突变体对木糖、苯丙氨酸、精氨酸、蔗糖以及核糖的趋化性比野生型弱。运动性分析发现,DM2304在含有0.3%、0.6%琼脂的NYGA板的游动性稍微降低,表明XC_2304与游动性有关。而DM2304的胞外纤维素酶、胞外蛋白酶、胞外淀粉酶、EPS产量、HR与野生型菌株相比均没有明显差异。本研究为十字花科黑腐病菌中其它与趋化性相关基因提供实验思路,对病原菌如何趋利避害的机制的研究具有一定的意义。     

微生物的运动性和趋化性在共生体系中的作用

许多共生关系依赖于宿主从环境中募集微生物相互作用后形成,而共生微生物的发现和定殖宿主的机制尚不清楚。通常认为环境共生体的获得往往需要运动和趋化作用来使微生物主动迁移和定殖。这些行为在建立和维持共生相互作用方面的关键性已经在少数模式系统中得到了很好地确立和证实。但在大多数环境共生体中,这些行为在很大程度上仍被忽视了。基于对模式案例的分析,总结了宿主应用共生微生物的趋化性和运动性在何时、何地、如何实现共生募集以及有哪些影响募集的因素。强调了这些共生行为在大范围的宿主和环境中的重要性,并对共生关系中微生物的运动性和趋化性的作用研究进行了展望,旨在为今后的相关研究和实际应用提供参考。     

鞭毛介导的运动性与细菌生物膜的相互关系

摘要:由于运动缺陷型细菌形成生物膜的能力会下降,长期以来细菌的运动性都被认为与生物膜的形成呈正相关,但这一理论现在证明还有待商榷,而且运动性不是影响膜形成的绝对因素。本文详细介绍了细菌的生物膜和运动性,并重新定义了两者的相互关系。     

土壤有益细菌在植物根际竞争定殖的影响因素

在土壤有益微生物应用于生物肥料、生物杀虫剂、植物生长刺激剂和生物处理剂的过程中,根际定殖具有重要作用。细菌在植物根际定殖是一个比较复杂的过程,影响定殖能力的因素也是复杂多样的。本文综述了参与根部竞争定殖的生物因素,包括受细菌遗传控制的某些特性如鞭毛/运动性、趋化性、多糖、位点特异重组酶/菌落阶段变异、NADH脱氢酶,植物根的分泌物和植物种类等;影响微生物根际定殖的非生物因素如土壤类型、土壤特性和土壤温度等,探讨了影响微生物根际定殖的主要研究方向。     

细菌趋化性的信号传导及调节机制研究进展

近年来,人们对细菌趋化性系统中的蛋白质生化和结构方面的认识逐渐加深,其调节趋化反应的信号传导系统在原核生物中较为保守,其中对大肠杆菌的趋化性研究得最透彻,为理解其他信号传导机制提供了有力的参考依据.详细介绍细菌趋化性的信号传导机制,并对包括趋化反应调节蛋白CheY的蛋白质结构以及两种修饰方式的趋化性调节机制最新进展进行了综述.     

生物波特点的实验观察

以细菌是多细胞有机体的观点,实验观察群体细菌波动生长的特点,发现细菌节律性生长的自组织过程中表现出生物波的开放性、单向性、适应性、节律性、稳定性、趋化性及同步性等特点。关于这些特点的认识方式对生物波的研究有较大的理论和实用价值。     

Correlating single cell motility with population growth dynamics for flagellated bacteria

Many bacteria used for biotechnological applications are naturally motile. Their "bio-nanopropeller" driven movement allows searching for better environments in a process called chemotaxis. Since bacteria are extremely small in size compared to the bulk fluid volumes in bioreactors, single cell motility is not considered to influence bioreactor operations. However, with increasing interest in localized fluid flow inside reactors, it is important to ask whether individual motility characteristics of bacteria are important in bioreactor operations. The first step in this direction is to try to correlate single cell measurements with population data of motile bacteria in a bioreactor. Thus, we observed the motility behavior of individual bacterial cells, using video microscopy with 33 ms time resolution, as a function of population growth dynamics of batch cultures in shake flasks. While observing the motility behavior of the most intensively studied bacteria, Escherichia coli, we find that overall bacterial motility decreases with progression of the growth curve. Remarkably, this is due to a decrease in a specific motility behavior called "running". Our results not only have direct implications on biofilm formations, but also provide a new direction in bioprocess design research highlighting the role of individual bacterial cell motility as an important parameter.     

Bacterial motion in porous media

The motion of chemotactically different Escherichia coli C600, cheB287, and AW405 cells was studied using a column packed with silica gel. The model chemotaxis of bacteria in porous media seems to be adequate to natural bacterial chemotaxis in soils. The porous structure of silica gel prevents interfering convective flows. Silica gel columns make it possible to separate bacterial cells differing in motility and chemotaxis. Relevant physical phenomena are discussed. The concept of fast and slow chemotaxis is considered.     

Identification of Archaea-specific chemotaxis proteins which interact with the flagellar apparatus

Background  

Archaea share with bacteria the ability to bias their movement towards more favorable locations, a process known as taxis. Two molecular systems drive this process: the motility apparatus and the chemotaxis signal transduction system. The first consists of the flagellum, the flagellar motor, and its switch, which allows cells to reverse the rotation of flagella. The second targets the flagellar motor switch in order to modulate the switching frequency in response to external stimuli. While the signal transduction system is conserved throughout archaea and bacteria, the archaeal flagellar apparatus is different from the bacterial one. The proteins constituting the flagellar motor and its switch in archaea have not yet been identified, and the connection between the bacterial-like chemotaxis signal transduction system and the archaeal motility apparatus is unknown.     

Bacterial Motion in Porous Media

The motion of chemotactically different Escherichia coli C600, cheB287, and AW405 cells was studied using a column packed with silica gel. The model chemotaxis of bacteria in porous media seems to be adequate for natural bacterial chemotaxis in soils. The porous structure of silica gel prevents interfering convective flows. Silica gel columns make it possible to separate bacterial cells differing in motility and chemotaxis. Relevant physical phenomena are discussed. The concept of fast and slow chemotaxis is considered.     

RpoS controls the Vibrio cholerae mucosal escape response

Vibrio cholerae causes a severe diarrhoeal disease by secreting a toxin during colonization of the epithelium in the small intestine. Whereas the initial steps of the infectious process have been intensively studied, the last phases have received little attention. Confocal microscopy of V. cholerae O1-infected rabbit ileal loops captured a distinctive stage in the infectious process: 12 h post-inoculation, bacteria detach from the epithelial surface and move into the fluid-filled lumen. Designated the "mucosal escape response," this phenomenon requires RpoS, the stationary phase alternative sigma factor. Quantitative in vivo localization assays corroborated the rpoS phenotype and showed that it also requires HapR. Expression profiling of bacteria isolated from ileal loop fluid and mucus demonstrated a significant RpoS-dependent upregulation of many chemotaxis and motility genes coincident with the emigration of bacteria from the epithelial surface. In stationary phase cultures, RpoS was also required for upregulation of chemotaxis and motility genes, for production of flagella, and for movement of bacteria across low nutrient swarm plates. The hapR mutant produced near-normal numbers of flagellated cells, but was significantly less motile than the wild-type parent. During in vitro growth under virulence-inducing conditions, the rpoS mutant produced 10- to 100-fold more cholera toxin than the wild-type parent. Although the rpoS mutant caused only a small over-expression of the genes encoding cholera toxin in the ileal loop, it resulted in a 30% increase in fluid accumulation compared to the wild-type. Together, these results show that the mucosal escape response is orchestrated by an RpoS-dependent genetic program that activates chemotaxis and motility functions. This may furthermore coincide with reduced virulence gene expression, thus preparing the organism for the next stage in its life cycle.     

The Pseudomonas aeruginosa chemotaxis methyltransferase CheR1 impacts on bacterial surface sampling

The characterization of factors contributing to the formation and development of surface-associated bacterial communities known as biofilms has become an area of intense interest since biofilms have a major impact on human health, the environment and industry. Various studies have demonstrated that motility, including swimming, swarming and twitching, seems to play an important role in the surface colonization and establishment of structured biofilms. Thereby, the impact of chemotaxis on biofilm formation has been less intensively studied. Pseudomonas aeruginosa has a very complex chemosensory system with two Che systems implicated in flagella-mediated motility. In this study, we demonstrate that the chemotaxis protein CheR1 is a methyltransferase that binds S-adenosylmethionine and transfers a methyl group from this methyl donor to the chemoreceptor PctA, an activity which can be stimulated by the attractant serine but not by glutamine. We furthermore demonstrate that CheR1 does not only play a role in flagella-mediated chemotaxis but that its activity is essential for the formation and maintenance of bacterial biofilm structures. We propose a model in which motility and chemotaxis impact on initial attachment processes, dispersion and reattachment and increase the efficiency and frequency of surface sampling in P. aeruginosa.     

Retention of bacteria in liquid films at agar surfaces.

The number of bacteria retained by agar dipslides immersed in bacterial suspensions was dependent solely on suspension population density and was unaffected by the nutrient status of the agar surface or liquid, disturbance of the liquid, or bacterial motility and chemotaxis.     

Retention of bacteria in liquid films at agar surfaces.

The number of bacteria retained by agar dipslides immersed in bacterial suspensions was dependent solely on suspension population density and was unaffected by the nutrient status of the agar surface or liquid, disturbance of the liquid, or bacterial motility and chemotaxis.     

Mathematical Modeling of Chemotactic Bacterial Transport through a Two-Dimensional Heterogeneous Porous Medium

The impact of bacterial chemotaxis on in situ ground-water bioremediation remains an unanswered question. Although bacteria respond to chemical gradients in aqueous environments and under no-flow conditions, it is unclear whether they can also respond in porous media with advective flow to improve overall contaminant degradation. The effect of chemotaxis is most profound in regions with sharp chemical gradients, most notably around residual nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) ganglia and surrounding clay lenses or aquitards with trapped contamination. The purpose of this study is to simulate bacterial transport through a two-dimensional subsurface environment, containing one region of low permeability with trapped contaminant surrounded above and below by two regions of higher permeability. Using mathematical predictions of the effect of pore size on measured bacterial transport parameters, the authors observe a 50% decrease in both motility and chemotaxis in the finer-grained, low-permeability porous medium. The authors simulate how chemotaxis affects bacterial migration to the contaminated region under various flow and initial conditions. Results indicate that bacteria traveling through a high-permeability region with advective flow can successfully migrate toward and accumulate around a contaminant diffusing from a lower permeability region.     

Mathematical Modeling of Chemotactic Bacterial Transport through a Two-Dimensional Heterogeneous Porous Medium

The impact of bacterial chemotaxis on in situ ground-water bioremediation remains an unanswered question. Although bacteria respond to chemical gradients in aqueous environments and under no-flow conditions, it is unclear whether they can also respond in porous media with advective flow to improve overall contaminant degradation. The effect of chemotaxis is most profound in regions with sharp chemical gradients, most notably around residual nonaqueous phase liquid (NAPL) ganglia and surrounding clay lenses or aquitards with trapped contamination. The purpose of this study is to simulate bacterial transport through a two-dimensional subsurface environment, containing one region of low permeability with trapped contaminant surrounded above and below by two regions of higher permeability. Using mathematical predictions of the effect of pore size on measured bacterial transport parameters, the authors observe a 50% decrease in both motility and chemotaxis in the finer-grained, low-permeability porous medium. The authors simulate how chemotaxis affects bacterial migration to the contaminated region under various flow and initial conditions. Results indicate that bacteria traveling through a high-permeability region with advective flow can successfully migrate toward and accumulate around a contaminant diffusing from a lower permeability region.