Fimbriation in gliding bacteria

MacRae, Thomas H.; Dobson, William J.; McCurdy, Howard D.

doi:10.1139/m77-165

Cited by 40 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The thin fibrils, about 5 nm wide, which were found on both wild-type and Dsp cells correspond in size to pili (also called fimbriae) which have previously been observed on myxobacteria (6,15,19). The strong correlation between pili and S motility observed by Kaiser (15) suggests a function in cohesion, because the role of pili as attachment organelles has been demonstrated in a variety of pathogenic bacteria (2,9,17,21,23).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

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Cell surface properties correlated with cohesion in Myxococcus xanthus

1988

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The gliding behavior of Myxococcus xanthus cells is controlled by two multigene systems, A and S, which encode information for adventurous and social behaviors, respectively. The S system can be genetically disrupted through mutation, such as a dsp mutation, or phenotypically disrupted by treating cells with the diazo dye Congo red (Arnold and Shimkets, J. Bacteriol. 170:5765-5770, 1988). One of the functions controlled by the S system is cell agglutination. Immediately after the induction of agglutination, wild-type cells begin to form aggregates, and within 30 min the cells are packed side-to-side in clumps containing thousands of cells. Changes in the cohesive properties of S+ cells are correlated with changes in the topology of the cell surface observed by electron microscopy. Two types of cell-associated appendages were observed on wild-type cells: thin filaments (ca. 5 nm in diameter), which have been called fimbriae or pili, at one cell pole, and thick, flaccid ifiaments (ca. 50 nm in diameter), referred to as fibrils, at both the sides and tips of cells. Cohesion was correlated with the secretion of the thick fibrils, which coat the cell surface and form an extracellular matrix in which the cells are interconnected. Several lines of evidence suggest that these thick fibrils are involved in cohesion. First, Dsp cells were unable to agglutinate or secrete this extracellular material. Second, wild-type cells which were treated with Congo red neither agglutinated nor secreted the extracellular fibrils. Finally, removal of the Congo red from wild-type cells restored cohesion and also restored production of the thick fibrils. Attempts to estimate the efficiency with which two cells cohered following collision suggested that under optimal conditions, one in three collisions resulted in stable contact. The collision efficiency decreased linearly as the cell density increased, suggesting a cell density-dependent regulation of cohesion. Some aspects of gliding behavior can be explained in terms of an inducer and an inhibitor of S motility.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 60%

“…The mechanism of intercellular stimulation of motility, particularly across a small gap, is unknown but may involve cell-to-cell contact by long extracellular appendages. Two types of appendages have been reported on cells: fimbriae or pili which are very thin (15, 19), and thicker fibrils of unknown composition (3).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cell surface properties correlated with cohesion in Myxococcus xanthus

1988

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“…In many rod-shaped bacteria, adhesins (attachment proteins) are located specifically at the cell poles (31,41,72,127,184,195). In fact, over 90% of E. coli cells adhere to polystyrene particles by one pole, suggesting that localized domains mediate the interactions (145).…”

Section: Poles Apart: Polar Localizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pseudomonas aeruginosa binds to filaments of the fungus Candida albicans, with the initial contact being made by type IV pili at one pole of the bacterium (127), and the sticky holdfast molecules of prosthecate bacteria are located at the tip end of one of their appendages (61,65,253,255). Many gliding bacteria express pili at one pole (195), the fimbriated pole of Thiothrix nivea initiates attachment (184), and attachment of Mycoplasma pneumoniae to glass surfaces may be easier for an elongated cell because the negative charge repulsion is reduced by approaching tip first (72). These behaviors are consistent with an advantage for concentrating adhesin molecules at the tip ends of cellular structures (31 …”

Section: Poles Apart: Polar Localizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bacteria that move by "twitching motility" extend pili from one end of the cell, attach to a surface via the tips of the pili, retract the pili, and then repeat the process, thereby pulling the cell body forward as you might extend and retract your arms to climb a ladder (36,202). Long before the actual mechanism was discovered, it was known that bacteria moving this way had pili at one pole and not at the other (195), a prerequisite for moving in one direction. Cells without polarity can move by twitching, but a polarized cell shape improves the directionality.…”

Section: Motility and Polaritymentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Selective Value of Bacterial Shape

Young

2006

Microbiol Mol Biol Rev

867

777

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SUMMARY Why do bacteria have shape? Is morphology valuable or just a trivial secondary characteristic? Why should bacteria have one shape instead of another? Three broad considerations suggest that bacterial shapes are not accidental but are biologically important: cells adopt uniform morphologies from among a wide variety of possibilities, some cells modify their shape as conditions demand, and morphology can be tracked through evolutionary lineages. All of these imply that shape is a selectable feature that aids survival. The aim of this review is to spell out the physical, environmental, and biological forces that favor different bacterial morphologies and which, therefore, contribute to natural selection. Specifically, cell shape is driven by eight general considerations: nutrient access, cell division and segregation, attachment to surfaces, passive dispersal, active motility, polar differentiation, the need to escape predators, and the advantages of cellular differentiation. Bacteria respond to these forces by performing a type of calculus, integrating over a number of environmental and behavioral factors to produce a size and shape that are optimal for the circumstances in which they live. Just as we are beginning to answer how bacteria create their shapes, it seems reasonable and essential that we expand our efforts to understand why they do so.

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Myxococcales

Reichenbach¹

2015

Bergey's Manual of Systematics of Archaea and Bacteria

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Fimbriation in gliding bacteria

Cited by 40 publications

References 19 publications

Cell surface properties correlated with cohesion in Myxococcus xanthus

Cell surface properties correlated with cohesion in Myxococcus xanthus

The Selective Value of Bacterial Shape

Myxococcales

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