Polyvinyl alcohol and polyethylene glycol form polymer bodies in the periplasm of Sphingomonads that are able to assimilate them

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) shows remarkable morphological surface changes in Sphingopyxis sp. 113P3 cells grown in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) but not in Luria–Bertani medium (LB) (Hu et al. in Arch Microbiol 188: 235–241, 2007). However, transmission electron microscopy showed no surface changes in PVA-grown cells and revealed the presence of polymer bodies in the periplasm of PVA-grown cells, which were not observed in LB-grown cells. The presence of polymer bodies was supported by low-vacuum SEM observation of PVA- and LB-grown cells of strain 113P3, and the presence of similar polymer bodies was also found when Sphingopyxis macrogoltabida 103 and S. terrae were grown in polyethylene glycol (PEG). The extraction of PVA and PEG from the periplasmic fraction of cells using a modified Anraku and Heppel method and their analysis by MALDI–TOF mass spectrometry strongly suggested that the polymer bodies are composed of PVA and PEG, respectively, in Sphingopyxis sp. 113P3 (PVA degrader) and Sphingopyxis macrogoltabida 103 or S. terrae (PEG degraders). PEG-grown S. macrogoltabida 103 and S. terrae showed higher transport of ¹⁴C-PEG 4000 than LB-grown cells. Recombinant PegB (TonB-dependent receptor-like protein consisting of a barrel structure) interacted with PEG 200, 4000 and 20000, suggesting that the barrel protein in the outer membrane contributes to the transport of PEG into the periplasm.