The high-resolution architecture and structural dynamics of Bacillus spores
The capability to image single microbial cell surfaces at nanometer scale under native conditions would profoundly impact mechanistic and structural studies of pathogenesis, immunobiology, environmental resistance and biotransformation. We report here that advances in atomic force microscopy (AFM) have allowed us to directly visualize high-resolution native structures of bacterial endospores, including the exosporium and spore coats of four Bacillus species in air and water environments. The dimensions of individual Bacillus atrophaeus spores were found to decrease reversibly by 12% in response to a change in the environment from aqueous to aerial phase. Intraspecies spore size distribution analyses revealed that spore length could vary by a factor of 2 while the absolute deviation is 7 - 13% in length and 4 - 6 % in width. AFM analysis also demonstrated that the mechanisms of spore coat self-assembly are similar to those described for inorganic and macromolecular crystallization. These results establish AFM as a powerful new tool for the analysis of molecular architecture and variability as a function of spatial, temporal and developmental organizational scales.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 15014729
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-JRNL-204047
- Journal Information:
- Biophysical Journal, Journal Name: Biophysical Journal Vol. 88; ISSN 0006-3495; ISSN BIOJAU
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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