A minimized motile machinery for Mycoplasma genitalium.
Mol Microbiol
; 100(1): 125-38, 2016 Apr.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-26712501
ABSTRACT
The cell wall-less bacterium Mycoplasma genitalium uses specialized adhesins located at the terminal organelle to adhere to host cells and surfaces. The terminal organelle is a polar structure protruding from the cell body that is internally supported by a cytoskeleton and also has an important role in cell motility. We have engineered a M. genitalium null mutant for MG491 protein showing a massive downstream destabilization of proteins involved in the terminal organelle organization. This mutant strain exhibited striking similarities with the previously isolated MG_218 null mutant strain. Upon introduction of an extra copy of MG_318 gene in both strains, the amount of main adhesins P140 and P110 dramatically increased. These strains were characterized by microcinematography, epifluorescence microscopy and cryo-electron microcopy, revealing the presence of motile cells and filaments in the absence of many proteins considered essential for cell adhesion and motility. These results indicate that adhesin complexes play a major role in the motile machinery of M. genitalium and demonstrate that the rod element of the cytoskeleton core is not the molecular motor propelling mycoplasma cells. These strains containing a minimized motile machinery also provide a valuable cell model to investigate the adhesion and gliding properties of this human pathogen.
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Mycoplasma genitalium
Language:
En
Journal:
Mol Microbiol
Journal subject:
BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR
/
MICROBIOLOGIA
Year:
2016
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Spain