Electron Microscopy of the Cell Wall of Rickettsia prowazeki

Purified Rickettsia prowazeki were found to undergo morphological changes resembling plasmolysis when stained with uranyl acetate, resulting in rod-like forms. Sequential electron micrographs of disintegrating organisms provide evidence for the cell wall origin of these rod-like forms. The substructure of the cell wall was discerned by using negative-contrast electron microscopy. The wall was found to be composed of repetitive subunits with a periodicity of 13 nm and was surrounded by a thin membrane.     

Electron Microscopy and Electrophysiology of Local Cell Wall Formation in Chara corallina

The formation of fibrillar and amorphous local wall appositionsinduced by wounding and treatment with chlortetracycline (CTC)was studied in internodal cells of Chara corallina. Woundingcauses a transient depolarisation of the membrane and a transientincrease in membrane conductance. The formation of a fibrillar,cellulosic wound wall starts after the cell wall lesion hasbeen plugged by vacuolar crystals and cytoplasmic inclusions.At that time both membrane potential and membrane conductancehave recovered their normal values. CTC induces a persistentelectrophysiological response and formation of the amorphous,callose-containing wall appositions takes place at low (morepositive) membrane potential and low membrane resistance, suggestingan increased passive membrane permeability. The electrophysiologicalchanges increase with the Ca²⁺ concentration of the CTC solution.The relevance of the membrane potential for the formation oflocal wall appositions is discussed. (Received June 29, 1993; Accepted September 16, 1993)     

Electron Microscopy of the Cell: Cell Structure and Function

The use of the electron microscope has added much to our knowledge of the cell. The fine structure of the component parts of the nucleus and the cytoplasm is described, and their functions are indicated. The nature and structural modifications of the plasma membrane are illustrated with particular reference to function. To illustrate the interrelationships of the nucleus and cytoplasm, the theory of protein secretion is discussed, the secretion of a particular protein or polypeptide being determined by a particular nucleotide sequence in the desoxyribonucleic acid of a chromosome, that is, by a gene. This information is transferred from nucleus to cytoplasm. It is in the cytoplasm that the majority of the work is performed while the nucleus directs the work of the cell.     

Root Exudate-Induced Alterations in Bacillus cereus Cell Wall Contribute to Root Colonization and Plant Growth Promotion

The outcome of an interaction between plant growth promoting rhizobacteria and plants may depend on the chemical composition of root exudates (REs). We report the colonization of tobacco, and not groundnut, roots by a non-rhizospheric Bacillus cereus (MTCC 430). There was a differential alteration in the cell wall components of B. cereus in response to the REs from tobacco and groundnut. Attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy revealed a split in amide I region of B. cereus cells exposed to tobacco-root exudates (TRE), compared to those exposed to groundnut-root exudates (GRE). In addition, changes in exopolysaccharides and lipid-packing were observed in B. cereus grown in TRE-amended minimal media that were not detectable in GRE-amended media. Cell-wall proteome analyses revealed upregulation of oxidative stress-related alkyl hydroperoxide reductase, and DNA-protecting protein chain (Dlp-2), in response to GRE and TRE, respectively. Metabolism-related enzymes like 2-amino-3-ketobutyrate coenzyme A ligase and 2-methylcitrate dehydratase and a 60 kDa chaperonin were up-regulated in response to TRE and GRE. In response to B. cereus, the plant roots altered their exudate-chemodiversity with respect to carbohydrates, organic acids, alkanes, and polyols. TRE-induced changes in surface components of B. cereus may contribute to successful root colonization and subsequent plant growth promotion.     

Combined Fluorescent-Antibody and Electron Microscopy Study of Marek''s Disease Virus-Infected Cell Culture

Duck embryo fibroblast (DEF) and chicken embryo fibroblast (CEF) cultures infected with Marek's disease virus were studied by combined fluorescent antibody and electron microscopy techniques. In both DEF and CEF cultures, cells containing immunofluorescent (IF) antigen also contained herpesvirus particles; conversely, cells lacking this antigen lacked herpesvirus particles. Two morphologically distinct IF antigens were detected in the cytoplasm. (i) A granular antigen in the perinuclear region was brightly stained with the conjugated antibody. This antigen was composed of a granular mass of osmiophilic material and did not contain virions. (ii) A diffuse antigen, present throughout the cytoplasm of infected cells, was less brightly stained. The area of the cell with the highest concentration of this antigen contained small vesicles, folded membranes, and fine electron-dense granules. Naked virions were occasionally seen in these areas. A diffuse nuclear IF antigen was occasionally seen in infected cells. This antigen was often separated from the nuclear membrane and the nucleolus by a clear margin. The intranuclear IF antigen was composed of a fine granular aggregate and naked herpesvirus particles which were randomly distributed throughout the nucleus. Viral capsids in antibody-treated cells were coated with fine filamentous material.     

Stimulatory Effect of Inhibitors of Cell Wall Synthesis on Protein Production by Bacillus brevis

Mutants of Bacillus brevis No. 47 that grew in synthetic media containing a high concentration of ammonium sulfate were stable and had high protein production. Among various antibiotics tested, inhibitors of cell wall synthesis, such as bacitracin or β-lactam antibiotics, were effective in greatly increasing the accumulation of exoproteins.

When 60 µg/ml of bacitracin was added to the culture at the early logarithmic growth phase, about 9 mg/ml of proteins was produced. Such a protein yield was estimated to be nearly maximum from a given amount of glucose. Alterations in cell wall components were found in cells grown in the presence of bacitracin. Possible relationships between cell wall structure and protein production were discussed.     

利用ERIC-PCR对苏云金芽胞杆菌与蜡状芽胞杆菌进行鉴定的研究

为了探索ERIC-PCR技术在苏云金芽胞杆菌和蜡状芽胞杆菌的鉴定及分型中的应用价值,本研究采用PCR方法初步检测苏云金芽胞杆菌杀虫晶体蛋白基因的组成,并对苏云金芽胞杆菌和蜡状芽胞杆菌的总DNA进行ERIC-PCR扩增,分析ERIC-PCR指纹图谱的特点并采用NTSYS2.10软件对其进行聚类。结果显示,各菌株的ERIC指纹图谱表现出不同程度的多态性,但图谱与菌株所含cry基因的类型存在一定的相关性。聚类分析结果显示,含有相同或相近cry基因类型的Bt菌株在进化树上趋向聚为一类,而不含cry基因的蜡状芽胞杆菌趋向于与不含cry基因的Bt菌株聚为一类或单独聚类。若在多种模式菌株的参考下,该方法可用于苏云金芽胞杆菌的初步鉴定和分型。     

Synthesis of Bacillus cereus spore coat protein

The major structural protein of Bacillus cereus spore coats was synthesized, commencing 1 to 2 h after the end of exponential growth, as a precursor with a mass of ca. 65,000 daltons. About 40% of this precursor, i.e. 26,000 daltons, was converted to spore coat monomers of 13,000 daltons each, perhaps as disulfide-linked dimers. The rate of conversion varied, being initially slow, most rapid at the time of morphogenesis of the coat layers, and then slow again late in sporulation, coincident with a decrease in intracellular protease activity. There was a second major spore coat polypeptide of about 26,000 daltons that was extractable from mature spores in variable amounts. This protein had a peptide profile and a reactivity with spore coat protein antibody that were very similar to those of the 13,000-dalton monomers. It is probably a disulfide-linked dimer that is not readily dissociated.     

Surface Features of Bacillus polymyxa Spores as Revealed by Scanning Electron Microscopy

The surface features of Bacillus polymyxa spores were compared by use of thin sections, carbon replicas, and the scanning electron microscope. Some features of the characteristic ridges, previously reported in ultrathin sections and carbon replicas of spores of this species, were more clearly revealed with the scanning electron microscope. A three-dimensional image is provided because of the greater depth of focus possible with this instrument. End-on views of B. polymyxa spores readily illustrate the polygonal porelike structure present.     

Staphylococcal Cell Wall: Morphogenesis and Fatal Variations in the Presence of Penicillin

The primary goal of this review is to provide a compilation of the complex architectural features of staphylococcal cell walls and of some of their unusual morphogenetic traits including the utilization of murosomes and two different mechanisms of cell separation. Knowledge of these electron microscopic findings may serve as a prerequisite for a better understanding of the sophisticated events which lead to penicillin-induced death. For more than 50 years there have been controversial disputes about the mechanisms by which penicillin kills bacteria. Many hypotheses have tried to explain this fatal event biochemically and mainly via bacteriolysis. However, indications that penicillin-induced death of staphylococci results from overall biochemical defects or from a fatal attack of bacterial cell walls by bacteriolytic murein hydrolases were not been found. Rather, penicillin, claimed to trigger the activity of murein hydrolases, impaired autolytic wall enzymes of staphylococci. Electron microscopic investigations have meanwhile shown that penicillin-mediated induction of seemingly minute cross wall mistakes is the very reason for this killing. Such “morphogenetic death” taking place at predictable cross wall sites and at a predictable time is based on the initiation of normal cell separations in those staphylococci in which the completion of cross walls had been prevented by local penicillin-mediated impairment of the distribution of newly synthesized peptidoglycan; this death occurs because the high internal pressure of the protoplast abruptly kills such cells via ejection of some cytoplasm during attempted cell separation. An analogous fatal onset of cell partition is considered to take place without involvement of a detectable quantity of autolytic wall enzymes (“mechanical cell separation”). The most prominent feature of penicillin, the disintegration of bacterial cells via bacteriolysis, is shown to represent only a postmortem process resulting from shrinkage of dead cells and perturbation of the cytoplasmic membrane. Several schematic drawings have been included in this review to facilitate an understanding of the complex morphogenetic events.     

Molecular Sieving by the Bacillus megaterium Cell Wall and Protoplast

Passive permeabilities of the cell wall and protoplast of Bacillus megaterium strain KM were characterized by use of 50 hydrophilic probing molecules (tritiated water, sugars, dextrans, glycols, and polyglycols) which varied widely in size. Weight per cent uptake values (R(w)) were measured at diffusional equilibrium under conditions that negated the influences of adsorption or active transport. Plots of R(w) for intact cells as a function of number-average molecular weight ( M(n)) or Einstein-Stokes hydrodynamic radius ( r(ES)) of the solutes showed three phases: a protoplast uptake phase with a polydisperse exclusion threshold of M(n) = 0.6 x 10(3) to 1.1 x 10(3), r(ES) = 0.6 to 1.1 nm; a cell wall uptake phase with a polydisperse exclusion threshold of M(n) = 0.7 x 10(5) to 1.2 x 10(5), r(ES) congruent with 8.3 nm; and a total exclusion phase. Isolated cell walls showed only the latter two phases. However, it became evident that the cell wall selectively passed only the smallest molecules in a heterodisperse polymer sample. When the molecular-weight distributions of polyglycol samples ( M(n) = 1,000, 1,450, and 3,350) were determined by analytical gel chromatography before and after uptake by intact cells or isolated cell walls, a quasi-monodisperse exclusion threshold was obtained corresponding to M(n) = 1,200, r(ES) = 1.1 nm. The permeability of isolated protoplasts was assessed by the relative ability of solutes to effect osmotic stabilization. An indefinite exclusion threshold, evident even with monodisperse sugars, was attributed to lengthwise orientation of the penetrating rod-shaped molecules. Altogether, the best estimate of the limiting equivalent porosity of the protoplast was 0.4 to 0.6 nm in radius and of the cell wall, 1.1 nm.     

利用PCR技术检测致病性腊样芽孢杆菌的研究

目的：利用PCR技术对致病性蜡样芽孢杆菌（Bacillus cereus）进行检测。方法：对致病性蜡样芽孢杆菌溶血素HBLa基因序列进行分析设计一对特异引物,通过优化PCR反应条件,来实现对致病蜡样芽孢杆菌的快速检测,结果：该方法具有较强的灵敏性及特异性,能够对肠毒素型腊样芽孢杆菌进行有效的检测,其最低检出限可达9CFU／ml,用PCR技术对食物样品中致病性蜡样芽孢杆菌的检测取得与普通生化检测方法一致的结果。结论：利用PCR技术对食品中蜡样芽孢杆菌的检测较常规的生化检测方法具有省时省力的特点且灵敏性较高,具有较强的实际应用价值。     

Transmission Electron Microscopy of Tissue Prepared for Scanning Electron Microscopy by Ethanol-Cryofracturing

Tissue processed for scanning electron microscopy by ethanol-cryofracturing combined with critical point drying was embedded and sectioned for transmission electron microscopy. Study of sections cut in a plane passing through the fracture edge indicated that preservation of cellular fine structure of fractured cells was excellent. Even at the most peripheral edge of the fracture there was no evidence that movement of cytoplasmic components occurred to distort the original structural organization of fractured cells. Lack of cytoplasmic detail in ethanol-cryofractographs has been due more to the nature of the fracturing of the tissue and to the obscuring effects of the metal coating than to structural deformation at the fracture edge or to limitations in resolving power of the scanning electron microscope used.     

Electron Microscopy of Some Special Cell Contacts in Yeasts

Anastomosis in Endomycopsis javanensis and some other filamentous yeasts was brought about by contact of a denticle from one cell with the wall of another cell, resulting in the disappearance of the outer layer and the thickening of the inner layer of the cell wall of the contacted cell. Another form of contact between cells was the penetration of one cell by a denticle on another cell which had grown out to a stalk; this occurred between cells of E. javanensis and between cells of this species and other yeast species.     

Use of Fluorouracil-Uracil Combinations to Study Growth Accompanied by Insufficient Deoxyribonucleic Acid Synthesis in Bacillus cereus

5-Fluorouracil (FU) at a concentration of 16 muM almost totally inhibited deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis and cell division by Bacillus cereus, whereas growth continued at an exponential rate (25% of control for at least 3 h). In cultures simultaneously given 160 muM uracil (U) along with the FU, DNA synthesis still stopped, but cell division continued for one generation at the control rate and at a much slower rate beyond that; in the meantime, cell mass continued to increase at an essentially normal rate. The cells in cultures treated with FU or FU plus U were elongated and contained about half of the control content of DNA, with one nuclear area per cell instead of two. Loss of cloning ability, unlike mass increase, was always correlated with the continuing inhibition of DNA synthesis, in either FU- or U plus FU-treated cultures.