Pit structure on bacterial cell surface.
The yellow-pigmented bacterium isolated from a ditch was a gram negative rod with a G+C content of 63 mol%, and was classified in the genus Sphingomonas. Electron microscopy revealed that the bacterial cell surface was covered with many large plaits. When grown in a medium containing a polysaccharide as an essential nutrient, a pit of 0.02-0.1 micrometers in diameter was formed on the cell surface, and a thin section showed the rearrangement of the plaits and the presence of a region where the cell membrane sinks into the cytosol. The dependence of the pit formation on the presence of macromolecule may predict the existence of a direct uptake mechanism for macromolecules through a mouth-like pit, possibly in endocytosis fashion. The confirmation of the pit structure is the first such finding in the history of microbiology and may provide a new insight into the cell morphology and biochemistry of macromolecule transport in microbial cell system.
Hisano
T
T
Kyoto Institute, Gunze Co., Ayabe, Japan.
Kimura
N
N
Hashimoto
W
W
Murata
K
K
D000464:Alginates; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D003034:Coated Pits, Cell-Membrane / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D020723:Glucuronic Acid; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000254:growth & development / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D013045:Species Specificity
D000464:Alginates; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D020723:Glucuronic Acid