Subcellular Min oscillations as a single-cell reporter of the action of polycations, protamine, and gentamicin on Escherichia coli.
BACKGROUND
In Escherichia coli, MinD-GFP fusion proteins show rapid pole to pole oscillations. The objective was to investigate the effects of extracellular cations on the subcellular oscillation of cytoplasmic MinD within Escherichia coli.


RESULTS
We exposed bacteria to the extracellular cations Ca(++), Mg(++), the cationic antimicrobial peptide (CAP) protamine, and the cationic aminoglycoside gentamicin. We found rapid and substantial increases in the average MinD oscillation periods in the presence of any of these polyvalent cations. For Ca(++) and Mg(++) the increases in period were transient, even with a constant extracellular concentration, while increases in period for protamine or gentamicin were apparently irreversible. We also found striking interdependence in the action of the small cations with protamine or gentamicin, distorted oscillations under the action of intermediate levels of gentamicin and Ca(++), and reversible freezing of the Min oscillation at high cationic concentrations.


CONCLUSIONS
Intracellular Min oscillations provide a fast single-cell reporter of bacterial response to extracellular polycations, which can be explained by the penetration of polycations into cells.
Department of Physics and Atmospheric Science, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Benjamin P B
BP
Downing
Andrew D
AD
Rutenberg
Ahmed
A
Touhami
Manfred
M
Jericho
D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000378:metabolism*; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D002118:Calcium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D002412:Cations; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000378:metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D005839:Gentamicins / Q000494:pharmacology; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008274:Magnesium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods; D008954:Models, Biological; D009991:Oscillometry; D011479:Protamines / Q000494:pharmacology
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D002412:Cations; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D005839:Gentamicins; D011479:Protamines; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases; C072069:MinD protein, E coli; D008274:Magnesium; D002118:Calcium